Skip to footer

James Holmes' mother speaks on behalf of shooter at final hearing

In what were largely symbolic proceedings, victims, survivors, and family members spoke prior to Holmes sentencing. 

|
RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post/AP
James Holmes appears in court for the sentencing phase in his trial, Monday, at Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial, Colo. Victims and their families were given the opportunity to speak about the shooting and its effects on their lives. Holmes was convicted Aug. 7 of murdering 12 people when he opened fire on a crowded movie theater in 2012.

The only person to testify on behalf of James Holmes was his mother, who said she has been researching mental illness and ways to prevent mass violence since the 2012 shooting at the movie theater in Aurora, Colo.

She expressed regret for not knowing more about mental illness, or their family history, and testified that Mr. Holmes feels remorse for his deadly attack, but that his mental illness and medications make it hard for him to express it. 

"I am not proud I didn't know a lot about mental illness. We should have known our family history better and realized that the signs of mental illness can surface at an early age," said Arlene Holmes, who previously testified that she didn't know her son suffered from schizophrenia until after the shooting. "We want to share our knowledge with those who want to speak with us."

The testimony was a kind of impromptu apology for the violence her son wrought three summers ago.

"We know that is very, very hard for people to see," Mrs. Holmes testified during her son's final sentencing hearing, with her husband at her side. "We cannot feel the depths of your pain. We can only listen to everything you have expressed, and we pray for you... We are very sorry this tragedy happened, and sorry everyone has suffered so much."

More than 100 victims and survivors testified about the physical and emotional fallout – recounting nightmares, flashbacks, and pain – of the shooting on July 20, 2012 that left 12 dead. Victims spoke of lost friendships and ended marriages. The mother of one of the survivors told the court her 13-year-old daughter watched her 6-year-old friend die. Following the event, she struggled in school, her mother said, and when she switched schools she became known as "the girl in the theater."

Jurors convicted Holmes of murdering 12 and attempting to kill the 70 others in the busy theater that night, and rejecting Holmes' insanity plea. Prosecutors have said the jury was divided on the sentence, with 11 wanting a death sentence and one in favor of life without parole. Under Colorado law, jurors must be unanimous to impose the death penalty, so Holmes will be sentenced to life.

The sentencing of life in prison without the chance for parole for the murders of 12 people and up to 3,318 additional years on attempted murder and an explosives conviction, will take place Wednesday.

Holmes will not appeal his conviction, sparing victims the possibility of another emotionally wrenching trial, his defense attorney Daniel King said Tuesday.

This report contains material from 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 James Holmes' mother speaks on behalf of shooter at final hearing
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2015/0826/James-Holmes-mother-speaks-on-behalf-of-shooter-at-final-hearing
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe