8:25 a.m. (MDT)
The parents of Colorado theater shooter James Holmes have been seen waiting in line to get into the suburban Denver courthouse where Holmes’ long-awaited death penalty trial is getting underway.
Robert and Arlene Holmes of Rancho Penasquitos, California, have publicly pleaded for their son’s life to be spared through a plea bargain. They called him a “human being gripped by a severe mental illness.”
Shortly before their arrival, some TV reporters followed Lonnie and Sandy Phillips, the parents of shooting victim Jessica Ghawi, to the door of the Centennial courthouse, in violation of the strict ground rules for media coverage.
A woman in a suit came up and scolded them.