DENVER (AP) – The parents of Colorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes are pleading for him to be spared the death penalty.
In a letter to The Denver Post published Friday, Robert and Arlene Holmes say they have always loved their son and do not want him to be executed.
“He is not a monster. He is a human being gripped by a severe mental illness,” they wrote.
Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges of killing 12 people and injuring 70 in the 2012 attack at a movie theater in Aurora outside Denver. Jury selection is scheduled to start Jan. 20.
His parents, who live in Rancho Penasquitos, California, say they also would like to avoid a traumatic trial.