CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) – James Holmes feels remorse for his deadly attack on a Colorado movie theater, but his mental illness and medications make it hard for him to express it, his mother told a judge in an impromptu apology for the suffering he caused.
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Holmes was found guilty in July of murdering 12 people and wounding 70 when he opened fire inside a packed midnight screening of a Batman film at a multiplex in the Denver suburb of Aurora. The jury was divided on the sentence, with 11 favoring death and one favoring life without parole. Prosecutors have said the gunman could ultimately be sentenced to a maximum of 3,318 years in prison, in addition to the mandatory life sentences. “We are very sorry this tragedy happened, and sorry everyone has suffered so much”.
With her husband, Robert, by her side, she was the final witness to take the lectern Tuesday, capping a sentencing hearing where more than 100 victims and survivors testified about the searing physical and emotional scars the 2012 shooting has left.
“I am not proud I didn’t know more about mental illness”.
When another victim suggested a juror opposed to Holmes’ execution must have concealed an anti-death penalty stance during the selection process, the judge rejected the allegation and said there was no evidence anyone on the panel had been “deceptive or did anything improper”.
Monday was the first of a three-day hearing that will put the finishing touches on the mass murderer’s sentence.
Victims spoke of lost friendships and ended marriages. Toni Billapando, who was shot and whose friend, Alex Sullivan, was killed, wondered about the effects of the shooting on her son, now 3. Her boyfriend died trying to protect her during the attack. Now, she’s divorced.
Arlene and Bob Holmes, who had testified that their son’s schizophrenia drove his actions, hugged one of the younger victims, Jansen Young, in a corridor outside the courtroom.
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Friends and loved ones of a South Florida man who went missing while paddle boarding in Oregon came together Sunday to pay tribute to him, hoping for his safe return even as authorities said it is highly unlikely he survived. Davies still sees the wide-eyed and bloodied faces of victims whose bodies she army-crawled over to escape the chaos.
