CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) – Jurors in the Colorado theater shooting case reached a decision Friday on whether James Holmes should be sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty.
They deliberated for about six and a half hours over two days. The sentence will be announced at 5 p.m.
The same jurors rejected Holmes’ insanity defense and convicted him of murdering 12 people and trying to kill 70 others three years ago inside a midnight Batman movie in suburban Denver.
The decision follows over three months of often emotional testimony from those who survived the attack – some in wheelchairs – and the children and parents left to figure out their lives without their loved ones.
They recalled sometimes funny stories about their family members, but many also described how they or their relatives have struggled with depression, PTSD and nightmares since the shooting.