James Holmes Spared from Death Penalty in Colorado Theater Rampage
Aug. 08--In a stunning conclusion to a harrowing trial, jurors weighing James E. Holmes' fate could not reach a unanimous verdict, and the Aurora, Colo., gunman was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was convicted on 165 counts, including first-degree murder and attempted murder, for the 2012 theater rampage that left 12 dead and 70 others wounded.
The verdict caps an emotional three-month trial of the 27-year-old Holmes, who opened fire at a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises," leaving a trail of blood and bodies.
The trial ended with two days of testimony by family members of the victims, stories of pain and loss that brought witnesses and jurors to tears: the 19-year-old who said her father's death left her family "broken"; the parents who see no future ahead, now that their daughter is gone.
Testimony about the gunman's meticulous planning and desire to "kill as many people as possible" trumped efforts by Holmes' distraught parents to humanize the murderer they called "Jimmy," the mentally ill man they still love, even after he carried out one of the worst mass shootings in American history.
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