Jury refuses to rule out death penalty for Aurora movie shooter

A local jury in Colorado took its final step Monday toward potentially sentencing James Holmes to the death penalty for the 2012 shooting at a Denver-area movie theater.

Jurors said Monday that attorneys for James Holmes had not presented a strong enough case to eliminate the possibility of capital punishment.

{mosads}The trial is now heading into its third and final sentencing phase, in which jurors will decide between life in prison without parole or the death penalty.

Holmes, 27, was found guilty of murder by the same jury last month for killing 12 people and injuring 70 others during the July 2012 shooting in Aurora, Colo.

The jury of nine women and three men started deliberating in the trial’s second penalty phase on Thursday. Holmes’s defense is seeking a life term in prison, arguing he is mentally ill.