Mass Shooting Inside Aurora, Colorado Theater -12 dead & 58 wounded

[MuffyBee]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/17/us-usa-shooting-denver-idUSKBN0OX1ZO20150617?feedType=RSS&feedName=newsOne&google_editors_picks=true
Judge dismisses fifth juror in Colorado movie massacre trial
June 17, 2015

The judge in the Colorado movie theater massacre trial on Wednesday dismissed a fifth juror, who said she recognized a survivor of the July 2012 mass shooting and prompted the defense to seek her removal.

The dismissal leaves a panel of 19 jurors, including 14 women and five men, to hear the murder trial of former neuroscience graduate student James Holmes, who is charged with fatally shooting 12 people and wounded 70 others during the premiere of a Batman film at a Denver-area multiplex.

Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour said he was letting the latest juror go because she had not been entirely open about knowing a wounded survivor of the rampage who testified during the trial's second week.

"I don't believe you have been completely forthcoming and candid with me," Samour told her.

Samour previously dismissed four jurors, including three last week on the grounds they were tainted after hearing about a prosecutor's Twitter message, and after they discussed the possibility of a mistrial.

The judge dismissed a fourth juror on Monday whose brother-in-law was recently the victim of a shooting and who had become emotional in front of other panel members.
 

[Blonde]

Colorado shooting verdict: Jury finds James Holmes guilty in movie theater massacre
Holmes case will next enter penalty phase where he could be sentenced to death

CENTENNIAL, Colo. — A jury has found Colorado movie theater shoorter James Holmes guilty of first-degree murder in the July 20, 2012 shooting that killed 12 people, making him eligible for the death penalty.

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Arapahoe County District Chief Judge Carlos Samour Jr. revealed the jury’s verdict at 4:15 p.m. local time. The jury reached its decision on day two of deliberations after meeting for about 14 hours, and nearly three years to the day after the shooting.

Holmes, 27, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Defense attorneys argued the heavily armed Holmes was in clutches of a psychotic episode when he ambushed the theater watching a midnight showing of the Batman film, “The Dark Knight Rises” on July 20, 2012.

Four psychiatrists who interviewed Holmes agreed that he suffers mental illness, but were split during the trial on whether he met the criteria to be delclared insane at the time of the shooting.

Prosecutors painted a pictured of a conniving egomaniac who killed for enjoyment.

The case has drawn international attention and stoked fiery debate about the death penalty, gun control and the execution of people who are mentally ill. A rampage killer going to trial has also boosted interest. Most mass killers commit suicide or are killed by police at the scene.

Prosecutors rejected a plea offer to a life sentence without parole in 2013. “Justice is death,” District Attorney George Brauchler said at the time.

The tragedy at the Denver-area theater is among the worst mass shootings in U.S. history. Holmes, dressed in police-like riot gear, was armed with three guns and more than 700 rounds of ammunition. Police said the bloodshed would have been worse, but the gunman’s semi-automatic assault rifle jammed during the attack.

“He only stopped when the gun stopped,” Brauchler told the jury during closing arguments.

Those killed ranged in age from a 6-year-old kindergartner to a 51-year-old father of four. Fifty-eight moviegoers were wounded by gunfire, and 12 more were suffered other injuries in the commotion to escape the theater.

http://news.yahoo.com/verdict-colorado-movie-theater-shooting-trial-gunman-james-holmes-192828613.html

[MuffyBee]

http://boom92houston.com/17671/james-holmes-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-following-aurora-movie-theater-shooting/
James Holmes Sentenced To Life In Prison Following Aurora Movie Theater Shooting
August 8, 2015

After murdering a dozen people and wounding 70 more in the Colorado movie theater massacre, James Holmes has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
A 12-member jury reached the decision unanimously after deliberating for nearly seven hours. CNN reports:
James Holmes will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing 12 people and wounding 70 more at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater.
A jury was unable Friday to reach a unanimous sentencing verdict, which results in life in prison without parole instead of the death penalty for Holmes, who had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2012 shootings. He was convicted last month of 24 counts of first-degree murder — two for each of the slain victims.
The 12-member jury reached a decision after deliberating almost seven hours since late Thursday. As they walked back into the courtroom shortly after 5 p.m. (7 p.m. ET), they made no eye contact with anyone. Some had a grim face. Some were ashen.