James Holmes in July 23, 2012.
Rj Sangosti / AP
CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Mass shooter James Holmes on Friday was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing 12 people and injuring 70 others inside a movie theater three years ago in Aurora, Colorado.
The jury of nine women and three men deliberated for roughly seven hours starting Thursday afternoon, but could not reach the unanimous decision needed for the death penalty.
As Judge Carlos Samour read the verdict forms aloud, Holmes' parents embraced, his mother visibly shaking.
One man in the packed audience stood up amid the rows of victims and stormed out. A woman ran after him. Hands reached across aisles to offer support. As the judge read the name of fatal shooting victim Jesse Childress in going through the counts, an Aurora policewoman burst into tears.
NBC News / Via nbcnews.com
After the final victim's name was read, several left the courtroom, the sound of weeping echoing through the hall outside.
Samour then thanked the jurors for sitting on a trial that lasted for months and that was packed with often emotional testimony.
"You all have put your lives on hold to do this," he said.
During their deliberations, jurors had asked to review some of the most graphic images presented in the case: The 45-minute crime scene video showing blood and bodies, as well as the hurriedly discarded belongings of those who were able to flee.
Throughout the sentencing phase of the trial, the jury had kept the death penalty on the table, but ultimately, it ended on life in prison, evoking a range of emotions for those impacted by the mass shooting, including state police.
Kirsten Han, who survived the shooting, said whatever the outcome, the sense of loss would remain.
"We know the families are hurting," she told the local Fox affiliate. "Either way, if he would’ve gotten the death penalty or life in prison, it’s not going to bring back their loved ones."
The trial began in January, with jury summons going out to 9,000 people. Since April, the jury has heard from more than 300 witnesses and reviewed more than 2,000 pieces of evidence.
Over the course of the trial, prosecutors had detailed Holmes’ months of planning before the massacre, then told the stories of the victims’ lives, as well as the horror of their final moments.
Holmes’ defense attorneys did not dispute what happened inside Theater 9 on July 20, 2012 — rather, they tried to show Holmes’ descent from a promising young student into psychosis and delusion with the onset of schizophrenia.
“He tried to get help,” defense attorney Tamara Brady told the jury on Thursday. “It was unsuccessful, but he tried to get help. It was his soul screaming for help while his mind was drowning in illness.”
The jury's decision on Friday came after heart-wrenching testimony from surviving family members of the 12 men, women, and child who died, bringing several jurors to tears.
“This is about justice,” District Attorney George Brauchler told the jury prior to deliberations, adding that had Holmes’ gun not jammed, he may have killed even more.
“He stops pulling the trigger only because the trigger stops working,” Brauchler said. “Does that get a life sentence?”
LINK: James Holmes Found Guilty Of Murder In Colorado Movie Theater Massacre
LINK: Families Of Aurora Theater Shooting Victims Describe Years Of Pain
LINK: Here’s What James Holmes Wrote In His Notebook Before The Aurora Theater Shooting
SOURCE: BuzzFeed
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