Skip to footer

In final bid for closure, Colorado shooting victims take stand one last time

Some 100 witnesses, including survivors, victims' families, and responders, are scheduled to testify in the final phase of sentencing over the next three days.

|
RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post/AP
James Holmes (r.) appears in court for the sentencing phase in his trial on Monday, at Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial, Colo.

Survivors of the 2012 massacre in Aurora, Colo., are taking the stand one last time, in the final phase of sentencing for convicted murderer James Holmes.

The three-day hearing began Monday and survivors, including police officers who responded to the shooting, are sharing their accounts of the incident and the hardships they have endured since.

At least 100 victims and witnesses are expected to testify about the crime's impact. James Holmes killed 12 people and wounded 70 others at a midnight screening of the Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” on July 20, 2012.

Aurora Police Cmdr. Michael Dailey spoke of the psychological challenges that he and his colleagues faced in the aftermath of the shooting, mentioning that many responders have struggled with depression and nightmares since that night.

Megan Sullivan, whose brother was killed during the attack, described during the hearing how she became an only child after Holmes murdered Alex Sullivan.

"There's no replacement for my brother, and no amount of justice will make up for the loss," said Ms. Sullivan, her voice choked with emotion.

Mr. Holmes showed no visible reaction as witnesses addressed the court. The jury has already convicted Holmes of the killings and determined that he should spend life in prison. This hearing is a formality during which Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos Samour will formally impose the penalties.

The Christian Science Monitor reported last April that Holmes’ trial took years to begin, as he underwent psychiatric evaluations and both sides filed motions about the death penalty and the insanity plea.

In May 2013 he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and on June 3, 2013 his plea was accepted.

During the hearing survivors have a chance to share their stories with the judge, but it won't change Holmes' sentence.

The judge also must sentence Holmes on 141 other counts that include attempted murder and an explosives charge.

In total, the California native could be sentenced to a maximum of 3,313 years in prison for his crimes, in addition to mandatory life sentences.

This report includes material from Reuters and the Associated Press.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to In final bid for closure, Colorado shooting victims take stand one last time
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2015/0824/In-final-bid-for-closure-Colorado-shooting-victims-take-stand-one-last-time
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe