‘Batman’ Shooter Jury Finds Cause for Death Penalty

DENVER (CN) - "Batman" move mass murderer James Holmes is eligible for the death penalty, his jury found Monday afternoon.

The Arapahoe County jury had to weigh mitigating factors - such as Holmes' schizoaffective disorder - against aggravating factors, including the murder of a child under 12 and the creation of a "grave risk of death" in a theater of 400 people.

Holmes killed 12 and wounded 70 in the Aug. 20, 2012 slaughter. The jury convicted him of all 165 counts against him. This sentencing phase was the next to last chance Holmes had at a life sentence instead of death.

After a day and a half of deliberation, the jury found that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors, sending the proceedings forward into the final phase of sentencing.

Holmes's mother, Arlene Holmes, cried as the verdict was read. His father, Robert Holmes, held a box of tissues.

In the third and final sentencing phase in Colorado, the jury will sentence Holmes to life in prison or to death by lethal injection.

The attorneys and Judge Carlos Samour Jr. stayed after the jury was dismissed Monday to review jury instructions for the final phase, which features the same reminder that the death penalty is "never mandatory by Colorado law."

Jury deliberations continued Tuesday.

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