Story highlights
Holmes receives a life term for each person he killed in Colorado
Gunman killed 12, wounded 70 at midnight show at theater
Life sentences -- and no appeal -- end a horrific case, judge says
(CNN) —
Holmes’ sentencing hearing, which enters its third and final day on Wednesday, revealed that the ripples of his violent act are lasting and reach far beyond the 82 people felled by his bullets.
Holmes, a 27-year-old former grad student, received one life term for each person he killed, plus 3,318 years for the attempted murders of those he wounded and for rigging his apartment with explosives. He is not eligible for parole.
“It is the court’s intention that the defendant never set foot in free society again,” Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. said after imposing the sentence Wednesday. “If there was ever a case that warranted a maximum sentence, this is the case. The defendant does not deserve any sympathy.
“Sheriff, get the defendant out of my courtroom please.”
There was a smattering of applause as Holmes, shackled at the waist and wearing red prison garb, was led away from the courtroom where he has spent most of his days since jury selection began in January.
Prosecutor George Brauchler said he believed the sentence was the fourth longest in U.S. history. He described the judge’s command to promptly remove Holmes from the courtroom as “the right exclamation point” to bring a painful, difficult trial to a close.
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RJ Sangosti/AP
James Holmes appears in court for the sentencing phase in his trial.
Wearing a helmet, gas mask and ballistic gear, Holmes tossed tear gas into Theater 9 of the Century 16 megaplex in Aurora during the first minutes of the midnight show of “The Dark Knight Rises.” Armed with a shotgun, a rifle and a pistol, he opened fire on July 20, 2012; he had more than 700 rounds of ammunition with him. After his gun jammed, Holmes walked out of the theater and surrendered.
The trial featured graphic descriptions of the gruesome crime scene and heartbreaking stories of the lives taken and shattered by Holmes’ bullets.
The testimony also focused on Holmes’ mental illness. A notebook containing his rambling thoughts and detailed plans for the massacre, as well as hours of videotaped interviews with a court-appointed psychiatrist, dominated that part of the testimony.
Holmes revealed that he had been obsessed with killing people since his early teens. He said he studied neuroscience in part to fix his own “broken brain.” He also said he contemplated suicide before devising a “life capital” plan that awarded him points for each life he took.
The defense portrayed Holmes as a victim of mental illness and brought forward a parade of witnesses who knew him as a sweet, academically gifted child. But prosecutors disdainfully portrayed him as a self-absorbed loser who lashed out violently after setbacks in his love life and his studies.
In the end, the judge found him to be a quitter who gave up on life and vowed to take others with him.
A jury rejected Holmes’ insanity defense and convicted July 16 him of 24 counts of murder, 140 counts of attempted murder and a single explosives charge. But the jury could not agree on the death penalty; there was a lone holdout.
Holmes received the only alternative on the 24 murder counts – life sentences without parole, to be served consecutively. The additional years, which cover the attempted murder and explosives convictions, will be served consecutively to the murder sentences. The judge merged the two convictions for each victim into a single count.
More than 100 shooting survivors and friends and relatives of the people he killed offered heartbreaking testimony about their loss at the formal sentencing hearing, which began on Monday. Some called Holmes a monster and said he had cheated the executioner.
They spoke of holidays, weddings and graduations that won’t be celebrated, and about depression, night terrors and survivor’s guilt. Some have yet to set foot in a movie theater.
Holmes’ mother, Arlene, apologized to the victims – but he remained silent. She said he is remorseful as well, but his schizophrenia and the medication he takes make it difficult for him to express his feelings.
His defense attorneys have said they will not appeal Holmes’ convictions or the sentence, noting that Holmes offered early on to plead guilty if prosecutors took the death penalty off the table.
Before issuing the formal sentence, Samour defended the criminal justice system, saying it worked even if some people were not happy that Holmes didn’t receive the death penalty.
He said he understands why some survivors are disappointed and noted that the lone holdout juror showed more compassion toward Holmes than the defendant ever showed his victims.
“The jury was not able to return the sentencing verdicts you were hoping for,” Samour said. “It feels like rejection. It feels like you were asking for something and were rejected. It feels like defeat.”
He assured them it was not. He pointed out that the mandatory life sentences, and the decision not to appeal, means the case ends now and the victims can finally move on with their lives. Had Holmes gotten a death sentence, the case would have dragged on, possibly for decades.
“Either way you look at it, the defendant is going to die in the custody of a department of corrections,” Samour said. “Death is certain, the only question is when.”
Photos: Colorado movie theater massacre
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RJ Sangosti-Pool/Getty Images
The public gets its first glimpse of James Holmes, then 24, the suspect in the Colorado theater shooting during his initial court appearance July 23, 2012. With his hair dyed reddish-orange, Holmes, here with public defender Tamara Brady, showed little emotion. He is accused of opening fire in a movie theater July 20, 2012, in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and wounding 70. Holmes faces 166 counts, almost all alleging murder or attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. More photos: Mourning the victims of the Colorado theater massacre
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Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office
Police release the official photo from Holmes' booking after the shooting.
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Holmes often had a blank stare during his July 23, 2012, court appearance, seeming to be in a daze.
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Victims and their relatives and journalists watch the proceedings in 2012.
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Flags fly at half-staff on July 23, 2012, at the Arapahoe County Courthouse in Centennial, Colorado, where the movie theater shooting suspect had his first court appearance. The murder counts against Holmes carry a possible death penalty.
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Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers talks to reporters July 23, 2012, before heading into the courthouse. The murder counts against Holmes carry a possible death penalty.
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Family members of the victims arrive at the courthouse July 23, 2012, for the suspect's first court appearance.
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The Century Aurora 16 multiplex in Aurora becomes a place of horror after a gunman opened fire July 20, 2012, in a crowded theater.
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Holmes is accused of opening fire during a midnight screening of the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises." Holmes purchased four weapons and more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition, police say.
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Police investigate outside the Century 16 multiplex July 21, 2012, a day after the mass shooting.
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Agents search the suspect's car outside the theater.
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Aurora police escort a sand-filled dump truck containing improvised explosive devices removed from Holmes' booby-trapped apartment on July 21, 2012. Authorities have said they believe the suspect rigged his place before leaving for the movie theater.
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Police break a window at the suspect's apartment July 20, 2012, in Aurora.
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Law enforcement officers speak with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, center, outside the suspect's apartment July 21, 2012.
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Law enforcement officers prepare to disarm the booby-trapped apartment July 21, 2012.
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Officials tow cars outside Holmes' apartment July 21, 2012. Police disassembled devices and trip wires set up in the apartment.
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Officers prepare to place an explosive device inside the apartment.
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Debris flies out a window, right, after law enforcement officers detonate an explosive device inside the apartment July 21, 2012.
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People mourn the victims during a vigil behind the theater where a gunman opened fire on moviegoers in Aurora.
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A woman grieves during a vigil for victims behind the theater.
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A distraught woman receives counseling from the Rev. Quincy Shannon, left, in front of Gateway High School in Aurora, where the families of the missing met after the shooting.
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Lin Gan of Aurora holds back tears as she speaks to reporters about her experience in the Century 16 theater.
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People embrace before a vigil for victims behind the theater where a gunman opened fire on moviegoers.
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Investigators work on evidence near the apartment of James Holmes on July 20, 2012.
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Members of the Aurora Police Department SWAT unit walk near the Holmes' apartment.
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Television news crews gather in front of the home of Robert and Arlene Holmes, parents of suspect James Holmes, in San Diego on July 21, 2012.
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A popcorn box lies on the ground outside the Century 16 movie theater.
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Adariah Legarreta, 4, is comforted by her grandmother Rita Abeyta near the Century 16 Theater in Aurora.
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Jessica Ghawi, an aspiring sportscaster, was one of the victims.
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A woman waits for news outside Gateway High School, a few blocks from the scene of the shooting at the Century Aurora 16.
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Aurora police chief Daniel J. Oates speaks at a press conference near the Century 16 Theater on July 20, 2012.
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Agents search the trash container outside the suspect's apartment in Aurora.
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A Federal ATF officer carries protective gear onsite at the home of the shooting suspect.
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President Obama speaks on the shootings at a July 20, 2012, event in Fort Myers, Florida.
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Moviegoers are interviewed at the Century Aurora 16.
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Officers gather at the theater July 20, 2012.
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Investigators were a common sight at the theater on July 20, 2012.
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Authorities gather at the shooting suspect's apartment building in Aurora. Police broke a second-floor window to look for explosives the suspect claimed were in the apartment.
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Screaming, panicked moviegoers scrambled to escape from the black-clad gunman, who wore a gas mask and randomly shot as he walked up the theater's steps, witnesses said.
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Onlookers gather outside the Century Aurora 16 theater.
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A woman sits on top of her car near the crime scene.
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Police block access to the Town Center mall after the shooting.
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Cell phone video taken by someone at the theater showed scores of people screaming and fleeing the building. Some, like this man, had blood on their clothes.
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Witnesses told KUSA the gunman kicked in an emergency exit door and threw a smoke bomb into the darkened theater before opening fire.
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What is believed to be the suspect's car is examined after the shooting.
He rejected criticism that the trial was a waste of time and money, since Holmes would have ended up with the same sentence had the state agreed to drop the death penalty in exchange for a guilty plea.
“Since when do we as a nation, as a community, put money ahead of everything else? When did that happen?” the judge asked.
Samour said the trial provided a platform for the community to know the people who were lost, and to learn about how such horrific, violent acts affect hundreds if not thousands of people. He said we were able to learn about the issue of mental illness and that we are still far from any real understanding about it. He said even the experts who testified would agree that the field of psychiatry has a long way to go.
Samour also noted that there was a fork in the road at which Holmes could have turned back, but didn’t. That was when he was outside the theater and tried to call his therapist.
The judge took pains to name each victim – Jonathan Blunk, A.J. Boik, Jesse Childress, Gordon Cowden, Jessica Ghawi, John Larimer, Matthew McQuinn, Micayla Medek, Veronica Moser-Sullivan, Alex Sullivan, Alex Teves and Rebecca Wingo – and offer up personal details provided by family members during the trial.
“We will never know what they would have accomplished. We will never know what impact they would have made in the world,” Samour said. “The defendant robbed not only the family members and friends of these victims, he robbed the world of all these deceased victims would have accomplished.”
Victims: James Holmes’ bullets tore huge holes in their lives
