James Holmes Gets Life in Prison

Seems a hold out juror caused the jury to not come to a decision on whether James Holmes, who murdered 12 people in Aurora Colorado theater shooting in 2012. 

The Judge has decided to sentence him the maximum penalty of life in prison, reports Fox News.

James Eagan Holmes (born December 13, 1987) is an American convicted on multiple counts of murder and attempted murder in relation to carrying out the 2012 Aurora shooting that killed 12 people and injured 70 others at a Century movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, on July 20, 2012.

Holmes was hospitalized after attempting suicide several times while in jail in November 2012. He was held without bail, and had no known previous criminal record. His attorneys were expected to enter a plea of diminished capacity (which differs from an insanity plea), but they told the presiding judge in the preliminary hearing that they were not ready to decide on such a step yet, and needed more time to review the massive documentation on the case. Colorado State District Court judge William Blair Sylvester, who was the trial judge overseeing the preliminaries, was also concerned about moving too fast in proceeding to the arraignment, which could produce further issues supporting an eventual appeal.

On March 12, 2013, a Colorado judge entered a plea of not guilty when Holmes’ attorney claimed that his client was not prepared to enter a plea. On March 27, 2013, Holmes’s attorneys said he would plead guilty to avoid the death penalty, but the following day prosecutors said they were not ready to accept the offer. On the following Monday, prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity on June 4, 2013, which the judge accepted. The trial began on April 27, 2015.

On July 16, 2015, Holmes was convicted of twenty-four counts of first-degree murder, 140 counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of possessing explosives, and a sentence enhancement of a crime of violence.