Colorado mass shooter James Holmes might face death penalty

James Holmes, convicted with mass shooting at a cinema in Aurora, Colorado in the U.S., faces the possibility of a death penalty as his defence team failed to convince the jury otherwise. He will be granted one last chance at life, in which evidence will be presented before the jury by both sides that will decide the fate of Holmes.

Holmes, 27, was convicted of killing 12 people and injuring 70 at a movie theatre in Colorado in July 2012. Depending on the outcome of the last plea, which will include emotional accounts from his victims, the jury will decide whether Holmes would have to die by lethal injection or spend a lifetime in prison.

In the first stage of the proceedings, the defence pleaded leniency for Holmes on the grounds of mental illness by claiming that he was not in the mental condition to distinguish right from wrong. But the jury that comprised of nine women and three men rejected the claim, citing the gruesomeness of the murder and saying that a death penalty for such a crime would be appropriate.

In the second stage, the defence lawyers called in Holmes’ family friends, relatives, former teacher, parents and sister, who testified that Holmes used to be a very amicable and happy child but in his later years, he mostly kept to himself. The BBC news reported that both the parents of the convict took to the stand and pleaded mercy for their son. "I didn't realise that his loudest cry for help was his silence," Arlene Holmes, Holmes' mother, told the court. After this, the jurors took three hours to come to the latest conclusion.

In the third and final stage, the victims and their families will finally have the opportunity to present their version of the case as well as their experiences before the court.

On July 20, 2012, during a midnight show at the Century 16 movie theatre in Aurora, Holmes broke in and set off teargas grenades and started shooting at the audience in a frenzy, resulting in the largest number of casualties in a shooting in the U.S.

Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au, or let us know what you think below.