Jurors voted unanimously in sentencing phase of Aurora, Colorado, movie-theater shooting trial
Jordan Burchette | August 3, 2015 @ 12:04 PM
Last Updated: August 3, 2015 @ 1:30 PM
Jurors in the sentencing phase of James Holmes’ trial for murder in the mass shooting at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater voted unanimously on Monday to retain the death penalty as an option.
The trial now heads to its final phase, when lawyers for both sides in the case will make their last pleas to the jury, with testimony from survivors and victims’ families expected to be wrenching.
Following final arguments, the jury will render a decision on Holmes’ fate, which includes life in prison or death by lethal injection.
Last month, the jury found the 27-year-old guilty of killing 12 people and wounding at least 70 others just days before the third anniversary of the 2012 massacre, which occurred during a midnight screening of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises.”
After a nearly three-month trial marked by gruesome crime-scene details and harrowing eyewitness testimony, the jury rejected the defense team’s argument that Holmes was not guilty by reason of insanity.
Holmes’ lawyers admitted he was the gunman in court filings, but argued that their client “was in the throes of a psychotic episode when he committed the acts.”
Monday’s decision comes days after John Russell Houser, 58, opened fire on a Lafayette, Louisiana, theater screening the Amy Schumer comedy “Trainwreck,” killing two and wounding nine. A veteran former FBI profiler suggested Houser may have been inspired by Holmes.
“There’s a very strong likelihood this could be either an intentional or subliminal type of a copycat situation,” Clint Van Zandt told TheWrap.
Ferguson Fallout: The Scene Following Decision Not to Indict Officer Darren Wilson (Photos)
Police officers march by a burning squad car during a demonstration in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
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Looters run out of a store in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
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Looters break into a business during unrest in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
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A protester is surrounded by tear gas in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
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Firefighters try to extinguish a burning restaurant in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
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A restaurant is set on fire by protesters in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
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Protesters kneel with their hands up in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
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A row of cars is set on fire at a used car lot during a demonstration in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
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St. Louis Co. Prosecutor Robert McCulloch announces the grand jury's decision not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in Clayton, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
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Demonstrators in Ferguson, Missouri listen to a car radio as the grand jury's decision is delivered on Nov. 24, 2014.
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Heavily armed police officers confront protesters in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
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St. Louis County police officers in riot gear guard the Ferguson police department on Nov. 24, 2014.
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A suspected looter is detained outside a Dollar Store in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
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Police deploy tear gas during a demonstration in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
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CNN Reporter Sara Sidner was hit in the head with a rock while covering the Ferguson unrest on Nov. 24, 2014.
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Protesters march in New York City following the grand jury decision in Missouri, Nov. 24, 2014.
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Protesters march through the streets of New York City after learning Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson would not be charged, Nov. 24, 2014.
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A woman faces police officers on the Harbor Freeway (110) in Los Angeles during a protest against the Ferguson grand jury decision on Nov. 24, 2014.
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Protesters gather outside a shopping center in the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles on Nov. 24, 2014.
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Protesters in Beverly Hills block traffic at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Dr. in reaction to the Ferguson grand jury decision on Nov. 24, 2014.
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Protesters gather outside the White House after the Ferguson grand jury decision on Nov. 24, 2014.
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Hundreds of protesters, many of them Howard University students, gather outside the White House after the Ferguson grand jury decision on Nov. 24, 2014.
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President Barack Obama calls for calm during a news conference in Washington, DC after the grand jury's decision on Nov. 24, 2014.
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Brown family attorney Benjamin Crump speaks during a press conference about the Ferguson grand jury decision in Dellwood, Missouri on Nov. 25, 2014.
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A worker cleans up glass at a business that was damaged during a demonstration following the grand jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 25, 2014.
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Ferguson Mayor James W. Knowles III addresses the delayed deployment of the National Guard at a press conference in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 25, 2014.
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Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon speaks about the widespread rioting and looting following the Ferguson grand jury decision during a news conference on Nov. 25, 2014.
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Missouri national guardsmen line up in front of the Ferguson police station on Nov. 25, 2014, ready to be deployed a day after demonstrators caused extensive damage in the city after the grand jury decision.
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Police officers secure the Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters after protesters pushed over barricades during demonstrations on Nov. 25, 2014.
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A protester sits in the back of a Los Angles Police Department transport bus in the early morning hours of Nov. 26, 2014, after being arrested at a protest against the Ferguson grand jury decision.
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Police arrest a Ferguson protester during the early morning hours of Nov. 26, 2014.
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A protester has her eyes flushed after being pepper sprayed by police in Ferguson on Nov. 26, 2014.
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Protesters turned over a police car during a demonstration on Nov. 25, 2014 in Ferguson.
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Lesley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown Jr., attends a press conference in New York City on Nov. 26, 2014 to pray and address the events of the last few days.
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Protesters set up barricades and block the 101 freeway in Los Angeles following the Ferguson grand jury decision, during a protest on Nov. 25, 2014.
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Violence erupts in Ferguson, and protests are held across the country after a grand jury decided Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson would not face criminal charges in the shooting death of Michael Brown
Police officers march by a burning squad car during a demonstration in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.