It took an hour to read James Holmes' 165 guilty verdicts from Aurora theater shooting

A Colorado jury convicted James Holmes of 165 counts of murder

(Image credit: Theo Stroomer/Getty Images)

last updated 17 July 2015

A jury in Centennial, Colorado, convicted James Holmes of murder on Thursday, deciding he was not driven by insanity to kill 12 people and wound many more when he opened fire at an Aurora movie theater in 2012. Holmes, 27, could face the death penalty when sentenced; the same jury will start hearing testimony in the sentencing phase next Wednesday. It took Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. about an hour to read each of the 165 guilty verdicts, while families of the victims wept quietly in the courtroom. The trial lasted 11 weeks, but the jury reached its verdict in about 12 hours.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.