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Colorado theater shooter guilty

Colorado theater shooter James Holmes was convicted Thursday of killing 12 people and wounding scores of others in a methodical attack on a midnight movie premier. Here’s a look at the key elements of the case:

THE CRIME

About 420 people were watching a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” on July 20, 2012, in the Denver suburb of Aurora when Holmes opened fire, killing 12 people.

Fifty-eight others were wounded by gunfire, and 12 were injured in the scramble to escape. Holmes surrendered to police outside the theater.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The jurors now will decide whether to sentence Holmes to death or life in prison without parole in the trial’s sentencing phase. Jurors will return for that phase Wednesday. It’s expected to last about a month.

THE TRIAL

The trial began with opening statements April 27. Over the next 11 weeks, jurors heard from more than 250 witnesses, viewed more than 24 hours of video and saw more than 1,500 photos, some of them disturbing images of the victims. They also examined scores of pieces of evidence. Holmes didn’t testify. The jury began deliberating July 15.

THE MOTIVE

Prosecutors said Holmes planned and carried out the massacre to assuage the pain of his failures in graduate school and in romance. Defense lawyers said schizophrenia had been growing inside Holmes’ mind for years and eventually overwhelmed him in 2012, creating a delusion that he could improve his self-worth by killing others and absorbing their value.

THE PLEA

Holmes pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, which under Colorado law means he acknowledged committing the acts but believed he wasn’t responsible because he couldn’t tell right from wrong.

THE JURY

The judge originally seated 12 jurors, plus 12 alternates to replace any jurors who had to be dismissed for health or other reasons. Five were dismissed during the trial, either for seeing news reports about the case or, in the case of one juror, because a family member was injured in an unrelated crime.

WHY HAS IT TAKEN SO LONG?

It took 2 1/2 years for the judge, prosecution and defense to plow through the mountain of evidence and hash out numerous legal questions. Further complicating matters were the number of victims, the prosecution’s decision to seek the death penalty and Holmes’ decision to plead not guilty by reason of insanity. It took nearly three more months to choose the jury after 9,000 summonses were sent.

WHY WAS THERE NO PLEA AGREEMENT?

Holmes offered to plead guilty if prosecutors would agree to a life sentence without parole. Prosecutors rejected the offer.

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