Colorado shooter to be formally sentenced

The formal sentencing began Monday at Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial.

Although James Holmes avoided joining the slim ranks on Colorado’s death row, the case won’t necessarily end with his final sentencing hearing slated for August. 24-26. “We can not feel the depths of your pain. We are very sorry this tragedy happened, and sorry everyone has suffered so much”.

However twice he took the weird step of chiming in, providing an impassioned protection of the jury and the method after the mom of one of many wounded stated Holmes’ life sentence confirmed extra concern for Holmes than for his victims.

And a third said he ought to complete a PhD and do something “amazing for humanity” while he serves life in prison, or be put to death for his July 2012 rampage. Holmes was convicted August 7 of murdering 12 people when he opened fire on a crowded movie theater in 2012.

The judge later delivered a forceful rebuke after Sullivan suggested that one juror might have improperly blocked the death penalty for Holmes by lying about her beliefs all along to ensure he got a life sentence. It will likely be a sentence never seen before in Colorado.

She says Holmes should try to atone for his crime by giving researchers access to his thinking.

Victims expressed anger and sadness, saying Holmes ruined many of their lives.

Holmes, heavily medicated on anti-psychotic drugs, wore a vacuous smile throughout the trial.

Other families criticized the process that spared Holmes from execution, calling him “evil” and a “monster”, who deserved to die for his act.

Victims told of friendships shattered and marriages broken. He was born just two weeks after the attack, as Billapando was recovering from her wounds.

Friends and loved ones of a South Florida man who went missing while paddle boarding in Oregon came together Sunday to pay tribute to him, hoping for his safe return even as authorities said it is highly unlikely he survived.

On Tuesday, defense attorney Daniel King told the judge that Holmes would not be appealing his conviction, sparing victims the possibility of another emotionally wrenching trial.

John Gerhauser, whose friend Jonathan Blunnk was killed, called on Holmes, a once-promising neuroscience graduate student, to make something of his life in prison that could help prevent future attacks.

“I lost friends and I had to change my job because I couldn’t work at that Red Robin”, a victim said.

“And that’s how you know it was justice”, he said.

“The same suffering I feel when I think of how my sister preserves the smell of my dad’s favorite tee-shirt, tightly rolled in a plastic bag”, she said. “We should have known our family history better and realized that the signs of mental illness can appear at a very early age”, said Holmes, who previously testified that she didn’t know her son suffered schizophrenia until after he killed 12 people and injured scores more in the attack. “We want to share our knowledge with those who want to speak with us”.