The sentencing of Holmes will last for three days as family members and victims will recount their experiences as it is part of the Colorado legal norms.
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The final chapter in the Aurora theater shooting trial begins Monday with the formal sentencing of James Holmes.
Their testimony will have no bearing on Holmes’ fate.
The nine-woman, three-man jury could not unanimously agree to condemn Holmes to death during the trial’s penalty phase. But some was angry and frustrated.
Tom Teves, whose son Alex was killed, called Holmes an evil coward and denounced the defense attorneys as “agents of evil” who were trying to advance their own careers.
“The message is the state of Colorado values a mass murderer more than the lives of those he murdered”, she said, speaking from a lectern facing Samour and occasionally turning toward the attorneys and the packed gallery behind her.
This case had 12 jurors and a judge who did all they could to be fair and impartial, Samour said. At the end of the three-day hearing, Samour will formally sentence Holmes to life without parole and up to 3,318 additional years on attempted murder convictions.
“But you can’t then claim that there wasn’t justice because it wasn’t the outcome you were expecting”, he said.
“The past haunts you to the point of exhaustion”, said Greg Medek, who cried as pictures of his daughter, Micayla, 23, were displayed on a courtroom television screen.
Holmes was convicted of killing 12 people and injuring 70 others.
Akutagawa said, “There was not any hate or anger in Becky’s heart, and I know she wouldn’t want anyone to carry that burden”.
Lonnie Phillips, stepfather of victim Jessica Ghawi, said he believed Holmes’ crimes had warranted the death penalty.
As the families speak, Holmes, now clean shaven with his hair cut shorter and wearing a red jail uniform, leans back in his chair, staring straight ahead and showing no emotion.
Holmes will also be sentenced on the lesser charges of first degree attempted murder, and two other charges.
The hearings won’t change the life sentence, but they give survivors a chance to share their stories. “I hope that prison is not kind to him”, Dailey said.
Police testimony during the trial showed Holmes purchased a ticket to the midnight screening of the movie and sat in the front row.
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The prosecution plans to call about 100 people to testify about how the crimes committed by Holmes have impacted their lives.
