The colorado massacre who is james holmes

Music Blocks is a new, 5-minute podcast exploring how music conveys emotions. Developed with middle and high schoolers in mind, each episode dives into how musicians from a wide variety of genres, cultures and eras express feelings in music. Learn how to explore music more deeply with Music Blocks! Our newsletters bring you a closer look at the stories that affect you and the music that inspires you.

Listen Live. Need help? Search Input. Holmes was sentenced to life in prison without parole by Judge Carlos Samour Jr. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. You care. For classical stars Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason, representation matters. This is how we analyzed Colorado wildfire data. Holmes had mailed Fenton, the campus clinic psychiatrist, a notebook about his mental illness and homicidal thoughts hours before the shootings, but it wasn't discovered until days after the tragedy.

Following his arrest, Holmes was held in solitary confinement at the Arapahoe Detention Center. In prison, Holmes experienced psychotic episodes and was hospitalized after allegedly attempting suicide by running headfirst into a wall. Holmes made his first court appearance on July 23, Seven days later, he was charged with 24 counts of first-degree murder and counts of attempted murder, as well as two charges related to the possession of serious weapons.

On September 19, the prosecution filed a motion to add new charges against Holmes. In March , Holmes made an offer to plead guilty to the charges in exchange for life in prison without the possibility of parole. This move would have allowed Holmes to avoid the death penalty. But the prosecutors rejected his offer, choosing instead to move forward with the case against Holmes.

The Arapahoe Country District Attorney George Brauchler was unwilling to accept a life sentence for Holmes, believing that the accused deserved a more severe punishment for his alleged crimes. On May 31, , Holmes' attorneys changed his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity.

Although his trial was scheduled to begin in October , it was delayed when his lawyers asked for a continuance. Jury selection began in January and lasted for three months. The trial began on April 27, On July 16, , after an week trial and over 12 hours of deliberation, a jury found Holmes guilty of 24 counts of first-degree murder, two counts for each of the 12 victims. We strive for accuracy and fairness.

If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Moviegoer Christopher Ramos told ABC News in that "people were running everywhere," including on top of him, and called the shooting a "real-life nightmare.

At one point, Holmes exited the theater, only to wait outside and shot patrons as they attempted to flee, witness Jennifer Seeger said on " Good Morning America " after the shooting. Police apprehended Holmes in his car behind the theater within minutes of the shooting. He was found in full riot gear and carrying three weapons, including an AR assault rifle, a Remington gauge shotgun, and a. A fourth handgun was also found inside the vehicle. Holmes told arresting officers that he was " The Joker ," referring to the villain in the second installment of the "Batman" movie trilogy, "The Dark Knight.

The next day, police, bomb squads and agents from the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms found a large number of explosives devices and trip wires at Holmes' apartment.

At first, Hazmat teams had to proceed searching Holmes' apartment with caution, since the materials could have blown up Holmes' apartment building and the ones near it, police said. Video from a bomb squad robot showed gun powder, gasoline and motor oil scattered across Holmes' apartment floor. The video also revealed dozens of black spheres with fuses all connected to them and pickle jars filled with liquid and bullets inside of them. The first booby trap was a trip-wire made of fishing line with one end connected to the door jam and the other connected to a thermos, said Richard Orman, senior deputy district attorney for the 18th Judicial District of Colorado.

The thermos had a bottle of nearly pure glycerin perched precariously on a frying pan that contained the chemical potassium permanganate. If the glycerin had fallen in, it would have ignited an explosion big enough to blow up the entire apartment, Orman said in following the release of an FBI report.

On Aug. In July , Holmes was found guilty of all charges against him, included two counts of first-degree murder for each of the deceased victims and two counts of attempted murder for reach of the 70 others who were injured but survived.