Aurora movie theater shooting day 54: Prosecution hopes to move to next sentencing phase

Day 54 in the Aurora movie theater shooting trial – People vs. James Eagan Holmes. Today, prosecutors hope to move on to the second phase of the sentencing hearing. The jury found Holmes, the admitted gunman, was sane when he went into the midnight premiere of the Dark Knight Rises in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater and opened fire on the audience, killing 12 and wounding 70. 7NEWS and TheDenverChannel.com will have gavel to gavel coverage of the trial starting at 8:15 a.m. (MST) everyday and ending around 5:30 p.m. (MST) Watch new live video on our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/7NewsDenver/live Additional resources:LIVE VIDEO & BLOG: http://bit.ly/theatertrialTIMELINE of the case: http://bit.ly/theatertimelineJURY PROFILE: http://bit.ly/theaterjury CONTINUING COVERAGE: http://bit.ly/theatercoverage

3rd & 7 37yd

I can't believe the defense is making these poor fools fly from California to not remember anything in a Sentencing Phase 2 witness testimony. This is what we've already heard. Prosecution please.

by Kels 7/23/2015 10:10:00 PM
Minutes from the Defense Team's Mitigation Strategy meeting: King: "Well, we've gotta do something, right?" Spengler: "Yeah-sure, we've gotta do something". Brady: "Absolutely, we have to do something..." Higgs: "Yup. We definitely have to do something". King: "Okay, anybody got any good ideas?" All, in unison: "Nope"

by flip 7/23/2015 10:10:26 PM
Wonder if the defense went after these people, or did they volunteer ?

by happy 7/23/2015 10:10:34 PM
I think her voice "warbles" more when she is interviewing a witness than when she is speaking directly to the court.

by Ann 7/23/2015 10:10:36 PM
@PA Watcher--I love Flatt & Scruggs! And not just for the Beverly Hillbillies theme song....they were great!

by flip 7/23/2015 10:10:43 PM
@Happy & kills the DT. AMAZING in itslelf.

by NT8 7/23/2015 10:10:45 PM
IMO; JH is a shy kid with a chip on his shoulder; BAM

by Resa 7/23/2015 10:10:46 PM
Wonder what the teach thinks of his letter today!

by mdesignz 7/23/2015 10:10:50 PM
As a teacher, I have written this exact same college letter. Templates are great. No one should trust this because we just fill in the blanks.

by litprof 7/23/2015 10:10:58 PM
@litprof hahaha!

by anica.padilla 7/23/2015 10:11:12 PM
Oh man, able to work and discover on his own...always stretching the bounds of his knowledge...like planning mass murder

by PA Watcher 7/23/2015 10:11:21 PM
Scruggs falls Flatt.

by flip 7/23/2015 10:11:22 PM
Quietness is also a quality of high intelligence. That is the only way of learning how to learn. Good teacher! Thank you for being able to help him with his exceptional gift.

by okx 7/23/2015 10:11:24 PM
@okx - not bashing his intelligence and not that impressed. Have several family members in the 140-150 range and worked with several people who were superior. No one in this group ever talks about how smart they are or thinks somehow they are better than other human beings!

by Edy 7/23/2015 10:11:31 PM
- New Witness
Defense calls middle school band director James Posteraro.

by anica.padilla 7/23/2015 10:12:14 PM
LOL what teacher is ever gonna say "" i did a lousy job of teaching this guy and i wouldnt recommend him""

by Tiki Torch 7/23/2015 10:12:29 PM
What I really hate about this extraordinary attempt of the defense is how much he is enjoying this "living public pre death obituary he is receiving at the expense of Colorado taxpayers while those he destroyed will just not receive the any part of the recognition that he has -----Guess the rest will be up to God....We can only hope

by JW 7/23/2015 10:12:34 PM
please excuse me while I go throw up.What a waste of money to bring all these people from California.Move on!! DT.

by TMT 7/23/2015 10:12:37 PM
When I was 16 I had an IQ of about 180 because I knew everything...by 25 I guess I was about 100 cause I figured out I didn't know crap :)

by PA Watcher 7/23/2015 10:12:42 PM
You nailed it, litprof!

by flip 7/23/2015 10:12:44 PM
I think these witnesses are all volunteers (common to issue subpoenas to volunteers). The DT would not chance putting on someone who does not want to be there.

by Sophiamtn@gmail.com 7/23/2015 10:12:58 PM
it is fun watching the DT self destruct.

by NT8 7/23/2015 10:13:00 PM
I am anticipating that these witnesses are trying to show how normal the defendant was and a mental health professional will be called to discuss his descent into mental illness.

by BernerMom 7/23/2015 10:13:03 PM
Yeah, this Scruggs was a Rocky Mountain Breakdown :)

by PA Watcher 7/23/2015 10:13:05 PM
Did they just laugh when he said he was middle school band director?

by Ann 7/23/2015 10:14:01 PM
No wonder. Brass player.

by Kels 7/23/2015 10:14:06 PM
this guy is going fast to get it over with

by mandi 7/23/2015 10:14:09 PM
We get it - he got A's in everything. And now he gets a A in mass murder. Thats why he needs to fry.

by Tiki Torch 7/23/2015 10:14:10 PM
Good sense of humor, pleasant to have around- I am beginning to lose the point of all this. I had assumed we would go from sweet charming child to increasingly withdrawn and odd adolescent- this is not what we are hearing in any consistent fashion.

by MW 7/23/2015 10:14:18 PM
Good boy at the time...

by Marsha Laurienti 7/23/2015 10:14:47 PM
I was in school band for eight years. Woo. Three years.

by Kels 7/23/2015 10:14:49 PM
Marching piano?

by NT8 7/23/2015 10:14:51 PM
I lived in San Diego for 52 years. Poway is a great area...low crime with great schools

by The area that the Holmes... 7/23/2015 10:14:52 PM
DT's claims of mental illness from a very young age does not resonate with these witnesses...

by mandi 7/23/2015 10:17:08 PM
hmmm..maybe Jimmie can play his trumpet in his cell either at Sterling or CCF..either way "jimmie" is going bye..bye!!

by TMT 7/23/2015 10:17:21 PM
and once...at band camp....

by PA Watcher 7/23/2015 10:17:22 PM
@MW--well, this testimony all goes to suggest that he would be a good-tempered, pleasant, intelligent member of the Death Row fraternity...

by flip 7/23/2015 10:17:27 PM
@Kels...it's usually the drummers that are the problem children :)

by PA Watcher 7/23/2015 10:21:44 PM
I certainly could be mistaken and will take your word for what the exact numbers were. And 128 to 123 still not a significant change in IQ. He was bright and all of his academics seem to reflect that, with the exception primarily (thus far, from what we know), of his oral prelim. Which he in advance explained to his friends that he wasn't preparing for, for whatever reason.

by MW 7/23/2015 10:21:48 PM
I've never watched a trial that the defendant's attorneys NEVER talked to him/her...or they didn't pass notes back and forth...BIZARRE

by A.L. 7/23/2015 10:21:52 PM
resa everyone said he was never mean or cruel or anything like that. I have written hundreds of letters of recommend and would never (even if a form letter) say those things if they weren't true. the teacher was sincere, like it or not. No DP for the teachers because they know his real spirit.
MW intelligence is fluid in actions, not fixed or consistent, unless needed Now all you DP people hate his intelligence. His intelligence is an aspect of his mind and of course, it would be affected.

by okx 7/23/2015 10:22:06 PM
Wonder if Holmes is thinking, I hated that class too!

by wp 7/23/2015 10:22:08 PM
This has to be humiliating. For. The family to listen to :-(

by Mo 7/23/2015 10:22:23 PM
maybe the lunch lady will be next and we can find out what he likes to eat in 5th grade. lol

by happy 7/23/2015 10:22:25 PM
You think they'll let him play taps for himself?

by PA Watcher 7/23/2015 10:22:31 PM