The movie theater chain Cinemark will no longer pursue the $700,000 in legal fees that four surviving victims of the shooting were to pay after they lost a lawsuit to the theater. Four years after the mass shooting at the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, this particular case is finally closed after the remaining plaintiffs reached a deal.

Attorneys for the theater chain on Tuesday said:

All plaintiffs in this matter have now waived appeal of the jury’s verdict and the case can now be deemed completely over. Defendants’ goal has always been to resolve this matter fully and completely without an award of costs of any kind to any party.

Surviving victims initially sued Cinemark for not having sufficient security at its theaters, hoping to raise the bar for other theaters across the country. They brought up the lack of security cameras, guards, and silent alarms on the emergency exit doors.

However, Cinemark’s lawyers concluded the theater could have done nothing to prevent the shooting and that the ultimate responsibility lay with the shooter. Cinemark was entitled to ask the plaintiffs to pay for its litigation costs, a bill that amounted to $699,187.13. But now they’ve reached an agreement, which means that any appeals will be dropped and Cinemark will not demand any legal fees from the victims.

The shooting in 2012 left 12 people dead and over 70 injured, including children and an unborn baby. The assailant James Holmes entered the movie theater during a screening of the Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises,” dressed in a long black coat, a gas mask, throat protector, and leggings. He carried an assault rifle, a shotgun, and two handguns and allegedly said something like “I am the Joker” before he started his shooting rampage. He also had dyed his hair shock orange.

Holmes’ mother spoke out about the event in May this year and urged people to be more open about mental health issues. She didn’t know her son suffered from schizophrenia until she was in court.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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James Holmes was sentenced to life in prison yesterday by Judge Carlos A Samour, without possibility of parole. He will be serving 12 consecutive life sentences, and an additional 3,318 years in prison. While that’s obviously an incredibly restrictive and grave sentence, many were surprised that the perpetrator of one of the bloodiest mass shootings in history didn’t receive the death penalty, and questioned the motives of the single juror who voted against it.

Aurora theater gunman sentenced to life without parole http://t.co/WVytelb7bz pic.twitter.com/Hlw4CPhCNp

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) August 26, 2015

On July 20, 2012, Holmes opened fire in a theater in Aurora, Colorado, during a showing of the “The Dark Knight Rises.” He killed 12 people and injured 70 others before being detained. In court, his lawyers claimed that he wasn’t guilty by reason of insanity, but that defense was ultimately unsuccessful, given that he had clearly put thought into his assault beforehand. He had spent months accumulating weapons and body armor, and had purchased his ticket beforehand.

In Colorado, in order for a defendant to be sentenced to the death penalty, the jurors had to vote unanimously for the death penalty. In this case, there was one juror who would not vote for that sentence, ensuring that the death penalty could not be used. Instead, Holmes was sentenced to 12 consecutive life sentences by the jurors–as is custom in Colorado the judge formally sentenced him today and was bound by the jury’s decision.

The fact that it was just one person who stood between Holmes and the death penalty received mixed reactions. For Judge Samour, it was an act that represented compassion in the face of the horrible evil that Holmes committed. Judge Samour stated: ““At least one juror showed the defendant the mercy that he refused the victims that day when he went into that theater.”

However for others, the fact that Holmes didn’t receive the death penalty was deeply problematic. Robert Sullivan, grandfather to six-year-old Rebecca Moser-Sullivan who was killed, and father to Ashley Moser, who was paralyzed, explained his frustrations to CNN. The sticking point appeared to be the one juror who voted against the death penalty; Sullivan called him a “stealth juror.” In order to be on a jury trying a death penalty case, you have to be willing to vote for the death penalty. A stealth juror is someone who is secretly anti-death penalty, but is still able to convince the attorneys during jury selection that they’re alright with the death penalty.

When the jury was being selected, there were concerns that a stealth juror would make it on. Legal experts voiced those concerns during the original jury selection process this winter. David Lane, a longtime Denver criminal defense attorney, told Yahoo about the difficulties of finding a stealth juror:

They are sworn to tell the truth, but a good liar can slip by. The only remedy for prevention is extensive questioning. Probing jurors about their attitudes about other things which would tend to out them as either liberal or conservative are helpful.

Whether or not the juror who voted not to give Holmes the death penalty was a true “stealth juror” or someone who genuinely thought that it was not an appropriate punishment for this case will probably never be known. However, the fact that Holmes received life sentences as opposed to the death penalty means that he, and his surviving victims, won’t be locked in years of appeals, hopefully finally bringing some closure.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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James Holmes was found guilty of first degree murder last Thursday for the deaths of 12 people in the July 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting. The insanity defense that his team tried proved unsuccessful, and Holmes will now be sentenced for his crimes.

Holmes faced two counts of first degree murder for each of the twelve victims killed during the shooting. The jury found him guilty on all 24 counts. The jury also found Holmes guilty of attempted murder on all of the 140 counts against him for the 70 people wounded in the shooting. Additionally, he was found guilty of one count of possession or control of an explosive or incendiary. He faced a total of 165 charges, a decision that took the jury 12.5 hours to reach. Now the same jurors are faced with the task of sentencing him to death. This process began yesterday. His attorneys are expected to raise his mental illness again during the penalty portion.

Holmes who had pleaded not guilty by reasons of insanity, but admitted to the killings, showed no reaction as the verdict was announced. His attorneys were pushing for him to be committed to a mental hospital for the rest of his life, while state prosecutors were seeking the death penalty.

Even though Holmes did not take the stand, the jury did hear from him via the 22 hours of recorded psychiatric interviews he had at both the Colorado Mental Health institute in Pueblo and at the jail where he is being held. Two defense psychiatrists testified that Holmes suffered a psychotic break the night of the murders and could not discern between right and wrong, but two-court appointed psychiatrists told the jury the defendant was mentally ill, but not insane. While those sound interchangeable, there’s actually important distinctions under the law.

In pleading not guilty by reason of insanity, James Holmes attempted to do something no accused mass shooter in America has done in more than 20 years–win a case with the insanity defense. Holmes faced long odds for a defense that studies show is raised in only about one percent of all felony cases nationally and successful in only about a quarter of those.

Mass shooters very rarely survive their crimes to face court charges. According to a database of American mass shootings in the last 30 years, suspects in only 19 of 61 mass shootings examined were arrested. Others either committed suicide or were killed during the shooting. Of those 19, only four, including Holmes, pleaded insanity.

The reason for the low success rate is the high bar that laws set for the insanity defense. In Colorado, it is not enough for defendants to be mentally ill. Instead, the law defines insanity as having judgment so impaired by mental illness that the defendant could not tell right from wrong. Given Holmes’ vivid plan, this did not appear to be the case.

The primary factor in determining insanity is the intensive mental health evaluations that a defendant pleading insanity is required to undergo. The judge overseeing the case this week ordered Holmes to be evaluated at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo. After several hours of evaluations, it was determined that his insanity plea was not plausible.

Evidence shows that Holmes’ plan, to some degree, was thought out beforehand. Holmes bought a ticket 12 days before the July 19 showing, and walked into the theater screening of the “The Dark Knight Rises” like any other movie goer. He then walked out through a rear door, which he left propped open. Just after midnight, about 20 minutes after the movie began, he returned wearing a ballistic helmet, a gas mask, black gloves, and protective gear for his legs, throat and groin. A tear gas canister exploded in the theater, then gunfire erupted from an AR-15 rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and at least one .40 caliber handgun. The shooting stopped with Holmes’ arrest outside the theater about seven minutes after the first 911 calls were made to police.

Given that evidence of his plan, it was not hard for members of the jury to believe that Holmes did not meet the bar for the insanity defense. “Look at the evidence, then hold this man accountable,” Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler said. “Reject this claim that he didn’t know right from wrong when he murdered those people and tried to kill the others…that guy was sane beyond a reasonable doubt, and he needs to be held accountable for what he did.”

With the jury certain that Holmes does not fit the bill for the insanity defense, it is not clear where their decision will fall in terms of Holmes receiving the death penalty. As one of the largest mass murderers in American history awaits his fate, we will have to see what the jury ultimately decides.

Angel Idowu

Angel Idowu is a member of the Beloit College Class of 2016 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Angel at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Hey y’all!

I am a huge fan of going to the movies. I was one of those people who would go to the midnight showing of “Harry Potter” or “Transformers” and all the big blockbusters. Although I never had a real passion for the Batman franchise, it sticks with me to this day with these two thoughts: 1. Heath Ledger died too soon, and 2. The “Dark Knight Rises” movie theater massacre in Colorado.

It’s hard to believe that it has been two years since movie theater shooter James Holmes walked into that movie and killed 12 people, injuring 70, on July 20, 2012. It’s even harder to believe that he still hasn’t stood trial for his crimes. The new date for jury selection is January 20 — this will be his FIFTH trial date.

Why do they keep postponing a trial that seems so cut and dry? Because they keep wanting to evaluate him and find out if he is sane enough to stand trial and get the death penalty that he so rightly deserves!

There have been 22 hours of interviews to determine if this guy is sane. I would say that all signs point to yes! Not because of my personal belief in the death penalty, but because he knew what he was going to do long before he did it. There was a serious plan in motion. The guy even signed up for dating websites and put in his profile, “Will you visit me in prison?” He knew what he was doing and the prosecutors are planning to use that bit of information to prove he was sane. Holmes’ attorneys acknowledge that he was in fact the shooter but that he was having a psychotic episode at the time.

It is time to realize that James Holmes knew what he was doing and get through the trial.

 —

Allison Dawson (@AllyD528) Born in Germany, raised in Mississippi and Texas. Graduate of Texas Tech University and Arizona State University. Currently dedicating her life to studying for the LSAT. Twitter junkie. Conservative. Get in touch with Allison at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Matt P. via Flickr]

Allison Dawson

Allison Dawson was born in Germany and raised in Mississippi and Texas. A graduate of Texas Tech University and Arizona State University, she’s currently dedicating her life to studying for the LSAT. Twitter junkie. Conservative. Get in touch with Allison at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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