Jurors to decide whether Colorado theater shooter should die
CENTENNIAL, Colorado -- Jurors on Wednesday will begin weighing whether Colorado theater shooter James Holmes, who killed 12 people and injured 70 others in a movie theater three years ago, deserves to die.
The jury has rejected his claim that he was legally insane when committed the crime, but it now must consider the extent of his mental illness against the enduring pain and heartache that he caused.
Testimony experts say the sentencing phase that is expected to last a month could be even more emotional and polarizing than the 11-week trial.
At the heart of the penalty phase will be whether the lifelong suffering caused when Holmes opened fire on a crowded midnight movie premiere outweighs the extent of his mental ailment.
Holmes' defense attorneys, whose expert witnesses diagnosed Holmes with schizophrenia and other disorders, will try to show he is so sick that it would be wrong to execute him.
Prosecutors could offer even more heartbreaking accounts from victims, ranging from those Holmes maimed to the father of the youngest to die in the shooting, a 6-year-old girl.
Holmes' parents, neighbors, a college roommate and officials from charities where Holmes volunteered could all be called to testify on his behalf, highlighting so-called mitigating factors that would warrant a life sentence over execution.
Jurors are to decide for themselves what mitigating factors exist. If they find those factors outweigh evidence presented by prosecutors, Holmes will be sentenced to life in prison. If not, the sentencing proceeds to a third phase in which prosecutors will call victims and survivors to testify about the impact of the shooting on their lives.
If the panel of nine women and three men can't unanimously agree on punishment, Holmes will automatically be sentenced to life in prison without parole.