Theater shooting testimony resumes Tuesday
Testimony in the final sentencing phase for Colorado theater shooter James Holmes has wrapped up for the day after a string of victims and witnesses read statements about the crime’s impact.
The three-day hearing that began Monday gives survivors a chance to share their stories with the judge, but it won’t change Holmes’ sentence. The jury already has determined that Holmes will spend the rest of his life in prison without parole.
During Monday’s testimony, the grandfather of the youngest victim called on shooter James Holmes to “do the correct thing for once” and petition the court to be executed by firing squad.
Robert Sullivan called the death of a child “a profound and unique horror all unto itself.” He recalled his granddaughter, 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan, as a sweet, sensitive, angelic and innocent little girl who “has and will always remain in those hallowed reaches in my heart and mind.”
With Veronica’s photo displayed on the courtroom wall, Sullivan said, “I think of her soft brown eyes, so innocent, so sensitive, as if kissed by the summer’s warm rays.”
Sonya Akutagawa remembered calling hospitals in a panic after the attack to try to find her niece, 32-year-old Rebecca Wingo. Wingo, who was killed in the shooting, was a single mother of two daughters.
Akutagawa said, “There was not any hate or anger in Becky’s heart, and I know she wouldn’t want anyone to carry that burden.”
Also Monday, Amber Raney, who was in the theater, recounted hearing people screaming and said she has had constant nightmares about death since the attack. She added that she is now always cautious and aware of her surroundings, “but no person should ever have to feel like that.”
One mother of a shooting survivor called the life sentence unjust.
After her speech, District Judge Carlos Samour Jr. gave a lengthy rebuttal, saying that justice doesn’t mean that victims get the outcome they want.
Samour said the jurors did their jobs, and that justice means giving the facts to a jury and accepting their decision.
Samour said: “If it was a popularity contest, then you could never have justice.”
The July 20, 2012, attack left 12 people dead and 70 others injured.
Testimony continues on Tuesday.
