Colorado theater shooter James Holmes sentenced to life with no parole

Mr Brauchler recited the names and ages of the 12 people killed by Holmes and said they were at the heart of the case. The jury ultimately rejected this claim. Official sentencing is scheduled for August 24-26.

At the time, Holmes reportedly held a “human capital” credo that killing people would add value to his life.

A vote for the death sentence must be unanimous; otherwise Holmes will get an automatic life sentence.

The juror said that while they tried to reach a unanimous decision, the jury ended deliberations Friday after it became apparent one juror would not budge from her opposition to a death sentence.

“Psychological sickness performed into the choice greater than anything”, one of many jurors, who remained nameless, informed. All but one juror declined to speak with the media. “It’s a tragedy”.

The courtroom was also full of first responders, including Aurora police department officers – some of whom cried along with the families as the verdicts were read.

CARLOS SAMOUR: Would the defendant please stand for the reading of the sentencing – the final sentencing verdict forms? Their sobs could be heard through the closed courtroom doors.

Holmes showed no reaction, staring straight ahead, hands in pockets. His attorneys left court without commenting. Holmes will be sentenc…

James Holmes was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Friday for the murder of 12 people in Aurora, Colorado on July 20, 2012. But he failed to kill more, they said, in part because a drum magazine he had bought to boost his firepower jammed.

“This is a decision of the community”, he said.

He says the attack was the type of crime that called out for the community, through the jury system, to be involved in the sentence.

Since Holmes was convicted last month of more than 160 counts of murder and attempted murder, his lawyers and prosecutors have been putting questions of his fate before the jury of nine women and three men.

Holmes’ attorneys argued that their client is mentally ill and suffered a psychotic episode when he colored his hair orange-red like the villain The Joker, rigged his apartment with explosives, dressed in tactical gear, and sprayed bullets into the theater under a cloak of darkness and tear gas.

Victims were devastated by the outcome. Sullivan’s granddaughter Veronica Moser-Sullivan was the youngest victim in the 2012 movie theater massacre. Numerous survivors shared grim accounts of how awful it was to see loved ones die before them and described the harrowing experience of being trapped in a dark theatre unable to move.

“The gaping wound that we have with the loss of our granddaughter has been replaced with a new abscess of him living”, Robert Sullivan said. One of the victims was the son of Democratic state rep. Rhonda Fields, who’s been vocal in the past about supporting the death penalty.

A jury decided Colorado theater gunman James Holmes will spend the rest of his life in prison on August 7, 2015, rather than get the death penalty.

The defense sought to spare Holmes’ life by focusing on his mental illness. Despite hearing from all of Holmes family members and more evidence of mental illness and schizophrenia put forth by the defense in phase two, the jury did not find that mitigating circumstances of the murder outweighed the aggravating factors.

Prosecutors urged jurors to reject that contention.