U.S. prosecutors said Monday they will seek the death penalty against the man accused of the Aurora movie massacre last summer that killed 12 people and injured 58 others.
"It is my determination and my intention that in this case, for James Eagan Holmes, justice is death," Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler told a packed courtroom that included Holmes' parents.
Brauchler said he had personally discussed the case with 60 people who lost relatives in the shooting, and his office had talked to 800 victims and family members. Last week, his office publicly rejected an offer by Holmes to plead guilty and spend the rest of his life in prison to avoid execution.
Holmes appeared in court looking typically disheveled, sporting a bushy, unkempt brown beard. Uncharacteristically, he stared at the audience as he entered the room, then sat silently during the proceeding.
His parents sat side-by-side in the front of the courtroom, holding hands tightly during the death penalty announcement. Victims and their families reacted with tears and relief.
"I love the choice... love it," said Bryan Beard, whose best friend Alex Sullivan was killed in the shooting. "I hope I'm in the room when he dies."
But death penalty experts were quick to caution the legal battle has just begun, and hinges on determining Holmes' sanity at the time of the shooting.
"Let the death penalty war begin," said Craig Silverman, former Denver prosecutor who successfully tried a death penalty conviction in 1997. "If the prosecution is successful, this could be a 20-year ride until Holmes sees the inside of an execution chamber."
Defense lawyers will now build the case that Holmes was insane at the time of the attack. Prosecutors will show the methodical, elaborate planning Holmes exercised as proof he was sane. Holmes faces an all-important psychological examination in the next few months.
In a surprise move Monday, suggesting how long the case may take, 18th Judicial District Chief Judge William Sylvester named a new judge, Carlos A. Samour Jr., to take over proceedings.
"A final resolution of this case is now likely years away," Sylvester said, citing his demanding role as chief judge for the district, responsible for the overall running of the court. He said he couldn't oversee a complicated death penalty case as well as handle his other duties.
Prosecutors asked the new judge for a three-month trial starting in January 2014. Public defenders wanted a nine-month trial starting next summer or fall. Samour settled on a five-month trial beginning Feb. 3, 2014.
Both sides also agreed to a dozen preliminary hearings held before the end of the year.
"This is the most important case this court will ever hear," said Holmes' attorney Tamara Brady, her voice rising as she made an emotional plea for more time. Victims in the audience shook their heads in disbelief as the trial schedule moved into next year.
"They are trying to execute our client," Brady said. "We will do whatever we can to save his life."
Holmes faces 166 counts of murder and attempted murder for the shooting during the sold-out midnight premiere of a new Batman movie on July 20, 2012, where he allegedly entered a side door and unloaded an automatic weapon, shotgun and handgun into the unsuspecting audience. It is one of the worst mass shootings in U. S. history.
