Jurors find Colorado movie theater gunman eligible for the death penalty

Had the jury not decided to move to phase three of the sentencing, Holmes would have automatically been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.

The jury deliberated for just two hours before finding that Holmes’ mental illness was not a mitigating factor in the July 20, 2012, shootings in Aurora, Colorado.

The jury’s verdicts concluded the sentencing portion of the tria’s second phase, in which jurors heard from neighbors and teachers who knew Holmes as a child.

They have also determined that aggravating factors were proved that could justify the death penalty, unless the defense can persuade them that mitigating factors are more important.

If they decide to spare his life, he will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole – the same penalty that would have resulted if the jury decided not to move forward.

In the third and final stage, the victims and their families will finally have the opportunity to present their version of the case as well as their experiences before the court. That phase ended Monday with the jury deciding the death penalty would be considered for punishment.

Defense lawyers said it was not hatred or a desire for notoriety that compelled Holmes to plot and carry out the massacre, but a deepening form of schizophrenia that infected his mind with powerful delusions that killing people somehow increased his “human capital”.

A jury has ruled that the death penalty is definitely an option for James Holmes, the man who opened fire in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

Jurors rejected the defense claim that mental illness had so warped his mind that he could not tell right from wrong.

Sandy Phillips, whose daughter Jessica Ghawi was killed, said prosecutors advised her that she would testify Tuesday. “All they need is one holdout…”

Phase three: For the final part of the penalty phase, prosecutors will call back survivors for what is called “victim impact testimony”.

Holmes had been a promising scholar in a demanding neuroscience Ph.D. program at the University of Colorado until his life went awry amid the pressures of laboratory work. He broke up with his girlfriend and dropped out of school, abandoning his longtime goal of becoming a scientist.

Police testimony during the trial showed Holmes buying a ticket to the midnight screening of the movie The Dark Knight Rises and sitting in the front row.