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

@NT8 I believe they are looking at 24 charges - for the 12 murdered victims. There are 24 charges because prosecutors presented 2 theories of liability - first degree murder after deliberation and first degree murder with extreme indifference. Those charges will later be merged into one per victim.

by anica.padilla 7/23/2015 6:02:03 PM
Niki, I think I may have missed something. Why it was important - the comment the guy said - did something happen to you? If so, I'm sorry.

by Tammy Garrison 7/23/2015 6:02:09 PM
Phil - May I ask how long you have been with 7 news?

by Sarah 7/23/2015 6:02:10 PM
@Sarah Phil has been with us almost 3 years.

by anica.padilla 7/23/2015 6:02:28 PM
Me, I think they are going to get equal flack, whichever way they go, and I think they know that. I think it ways heavy on them that they may have to take the life of someone else.

by Tammy Garrison 7/23/2015 6:02:44 PM
we used to have such a nice community here :'(

by puglife 7/23/2015 6:02:46 PM
Next Poll? Now we know ages, how about locations? How many in Colorado vs out of state or even out of the country? :)

by colo 7/23/2015 6:03:01 PM
does anyone know how long they have been deliberating?

by LeElla Cabral 7/23/2015 6:03:12 PM
@Mr. D There is no debating on this blog, lol. I'm the only one that doesn't believe in the DP. everyone else sure let's me know that I'm the only one and that I am wrong, ha.

by Despicable Me 7/23/2015 6:03:31 PM
by anica.padilla 7/23/2015 6:03:41 PM
age 40. Nova Scotia, Canada

by Bill Ward 7/23/2015 6:04:10 PM
about kids in the theater. To each their own. I don't want someone telling me what is right for my kids, and I'm not going to tell someone else what is right for theirs. My son usually falls asleep by 7 on his own though (even at age 11) so for me, it wouldn't happen with him. But my daughter is different, she would love to go see some movies at late showings. So even with my own twins...it is different. Each parent makes the best decisions for their own children

by AM 7/23/2015 6:04:17 PM
I love the fact young people care enough to watch this trial process. Be PROUD of yourselves for understanding it more than your peers!

by Just Thinkin 7/23/2015 6:04:21 PM
@Anica, That is what I was thinking also, just wasn't sure if the attempted murder charges would be included. I know the lesser charges would not be part of this, as the judge rules on those.

by NT8 7/23/2015 6:04:33 PM
@NT8 I think at this phase only the counts eligible for the death penalty are considered.

by anica.padilla 7/23/2015 6:05:29 PM
@LG - If I were King of This World...I would keep children from seeing things of an adult nature. There is plenty of time for this as they get older. :)

by kdsmith 7/23/2015 6:05:39 PM
This was a horrible crime and massacre. This trial is not about why the parents took their minor children to a movie like this. It is not like they took them to a night club people.. Get off the "parent soapbox" . All I care about is that death or life, he will never be free, and he will get his!!! He may be mental but not insane!! Jury said so!! and he is Guilty..Guilty..Guilty!! bye bye :"That Guy"

by TMT 7/23/2015 6:05:57 PM
@dispicbable - Not sure how I feel about it either, so you're not alone.

by pcmamanim 7/23/2015 6:05:58 PM
@JustThinkin, thank you! I feel proud of myself. It takes a lot for "kids" my age to get into something this significant. This is the law at work, you know? I sent the stats to my lawyer buddy upstairs and that it was a pretty broad distribution.

by Kels 7/23/2015 6:06:04 PM
And you, Anica? How long have you been wit D7?

by Tammy Garrison 7/23/2015 6:06:06 PM
@Tammy I've been at D7 almost 6 years.

by anica.padilla 7/23/2015 6:06:44 PM
@Tammy - no, I explained that poorly. I explained the whole JH thing and many the indicators falling to the side. That I would have had no issues going to the authorities if he had continued with his ideas of shooting people. He said sorry and that he realized that we cannot "joke" about things like that anymore.

by Niki C. 7/23/2015 6:07:03 PM
@Anica, bounce that question to the legal beagles, if the jury doesn't come back by lunch please.

by NT8 7/23/2015 6:07:09 PM
@AM - This should be done in the privacy of your home then. By your same logic, it would be fine for your children to see pornographic material...if you thought it was okay. I completely disagree. Respectfully of course.

by kdsmith 7/23/2015 6:07:35 PM
@Kels If I had this format around when I was young I would have loved understanding the whole process. We are very blessed in our country that the process good/bad is being open for the public to understand

by Just Thinkin 7/23/2015 6:09:19 PM
@Just T - Completely agree with you on that last comment.

by kdsmith 7/23/2015 6:10:22 PM
Someone asked earlier is he gets LWOP will he be in the general population or will he stay in solitary for his own protection?

by Hill 7/23/2015 6:15:05 PM
Concerning this "kids in the theater" discussion....for goodness sake! July 19/20 was summer vacation time, no? It's not like "bad" parents were allowing their children to attend a midnight movie on a school night. I don't know about the rest of you folks, but I consider staying up late to do something fun is one of the great childhood perks of summer vacation.

by flip 7/23/2015 6:15:12 PM
I love Colorado. My husband and I went through once on vacation. The friendliest people were there. And the scenery! The Rockies were awesome, Dillon Lake and area was absolutely beautiful, and I loved Grand Junction. I think I would really enjoy living there.

by Tammy Garrison 7/23/2015 6:15:18 PM
@Me Why would you assume that? There are plenty of people here that don't believe in the DP in general. Quite a few of us could be convinced that it needs to go... and then something like this crime happens and the community it happens to usually makes statements like ' If there ever was a case for it, this is it " And this is that kind of case and what the jury is struggling with right now.

We don't have to agree on any of this.

I'd only ask that if you want people to be open minded towards your own position, you show that same respect for others. The fact that you struggle with this balance is why you feel you are being attacked all the time.

by Mark 7/23/2015 6:15:40 PM
I was raised in Ft Collins, still have family and friends in Denver are as well as a cousin of a good friend injured in the incident. so, couldn't really check in or out

by pcmamanim 7/23/2015 6:15:46 PM
There is 2 votes for "other" in this last poll. One was me. I didn't see the *in another state* at first. I'm watching from sunny (were in a horrible drought and need rain as seen on TV) California. =)

by Despicable Me 7/23/2015 6:15:57 PM
I'm 20 working at a sales/marketing internship but my officemate and I are both verrry interested in law so we stream this every single day during work. We finally made the rule neither one of us would comment because it was distracting us too much!! (Oops lol)

by COURTney 7/23/2015 6:16:08 PM
@flip I agree. and anytime you go to the drive in you don't get out until later either. so what's the difference?
I don't get people that think it's OK to judge other peoples parenting, when it's not hurting them or the kids. There's times I don't agree when I see people at wal mart with their kids in the middle of the night. but I don't know them, their kids, or their situation, so who am I to judge?

by AM 7/23/2015 6:17:22 PM
@TG Colorado is often referred to as "Gods" country... I've lived here my entire live and wouldn't move unless I won the lottery and had enough to buy my own island!

by LG 7/23/2015 6:17:31 PM
Hill, solitary confinement.

by Tammy Garrison 7/23/2015 6:17:38 PM
Do you all think that the jury thinks that they have to find all the aggravating factors. I thought they only have to pick one for the next phase.

by Michelle Buendia 7/23/2015 6:17:42 PM
Let's not forget that James is also a victim. Free will is an illusion. We don't choose to be born. We don't choose our life. We don't author our thoughts.

by anon 7/23/2015 6:18:02 PM
To my Canadian friends, I love your country. Best vacation ever!

by Resa 7/23/2015 6:22:50 PM
Tammy. Solitary for his protection from the gen pop because he killed a child and would probably get killed because of that? Dumb question but, I don't know?

by Hill 7/23/2015 6:23:04 PM
When I was Veronica's age, my parents would take me to the drive in theater, having had my bath and in my pj's with a bed made up in the back seat, cuz they knew I'd be asleep before it was over. I remember those times with great fondness.

by Tammy Garrison 7/23/2015 6:23:19 PM
Age 59; North Atlanta suburbs; long time follower of Justice Quest and other message boards; been following trials for many, many, many years; enjoy the logical arguments of trials; really the whole process is very educational.

by andtototoo 7/23/2015 6:23:27 PM
@LG, that's funny, people in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana refer to their homes as "God's Country", I heard it all my life. All are beautiful states. I'm in Nevada and have property in Idaho/Wyoming border, it's all beautiful when you get to the mountains.

by Resa 7/23/2015 6:23:41 PM
Been in CO for past five years originally from the south. It's pretty here but I can't wait to get back home. I'm not sure if folks here in CO get us people from the east coast. Lol

by Hill 7/23/2015 6:23:45 PM
PLEASE don't reply to ANON comments they are just trying to push buttons....

by LG 7/23/2015 6:23:56 PM