Jurors have made an important decision in the penalty phase of the trial of the man who shot and killed 12 people three years ago.
It took jurors just three hours today to decide that they will not rule out the death penalty for James Holmes, the man they found guilty of all 165 charges related to his killing of 12 people and injuring of 70 others, three years ago. Holmes, now 27, had opened fire in an Aurora, Colorado movie theater during the July 2012 premiere of a “Batman” movie.
Before the jury announcement today, the Huffington Post explained that in “order to reach a death penalty sentence, the jury will have to unanimously agree that the ‘aggravating’ factors in the crime outweigh the ‘mitigating’ factors, such as Holmes’ otherwise spotless criminal history, his documented mental illness, and testimony from the shooter’s mother and father, who pleaded for mercy on their son’s behalf before the court late last month.”
The AP reported the judge had detailed more than 50 mitigating factors, including:
“All experts agree that Holmes suffers from schizophrenia, is not faking the illness that caused the events, and if he had been healthy, the crimes would not have taken place.”
Jurors announced they will consider the death penalty.
Holmes today in court just before the judge read the verdict forms: