Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes will face the death penalty, prosecutors said Monday in a hearing in Colorado. Holmes previously attempted to avoid the death penalty by offering to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence without the possibility of parole, but prosecutors rejected the offer after consulting with victims and their families.
"It is my determination and my intention that in this case for James Eagan Holmes, justice is death," Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler said Monday.
Holmes is charged with 166 counts of murder and attempted murder for killing 12 people and wounding 58 others when he opened fire at Century Aurora 16 Theater on July 20, 2012 during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises. The former University of Colorado neuroscience student surrendered to police in the theater’s rear parking lot. He was dressed in tactical gear. Investigators then found his apartment booby trapped with a sophisticated system of trip wires, explosives, acid, bullets and gasoline.
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