Jury leaves death penalty option on the table for Aurora shooter James Holmes


James Holmes may face the death penalty for the 2012 shooting at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater. The jury decided Monday to move forward with sentencing, leaving the death penalty as an option, The Associated Press reports. They will hear another round of arguments before making a decision.
In July, Holmes was convicted on 165 charges for killing 12 people and attempting to kill 70 others after he opened fire during midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises. He had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
If the jury sides against prosecutors pushing for the death penalty, Holmes would receive life in prison without parole.
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
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