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Jury selection begins in the trial of James Holmes, accused of movie theater massacre

Most mass shootings end with the suicide of the gunman. Not this one. In July 2012, James Holmes is alleged to have entered a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., during a midnight showing of the Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises and killed 12 people. Now, after a series of delays sought by his defense team, he goes on trial, with jury selection starting today. The court has summoned about 9,000 potential jurors who will be interviewed over the coming weeks to develop a panel that will decide guilt or innocence, and then whether he should be put to death. Holmes, now 27, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

In this 2012 file photo, Colorado movie theater shooting suspect James Holmes sits in Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial, Colo. (Photo: RJ Sangosti, AP)

Colo. (Reuters) - A Colorado jury sentenced movie rampage gunman James Holmes to life in prison on Friday, rejecting the death penalty for the 27-year-old who entered a midnight showing of a Batman movie wearing a gas mask, helmet and body armor and shot dead a dozen people.

Last month, the panel of nine women and three men found the former neuroscience graduate student guilty on all counts related to the July 2012 massacre. They were not unanimous, however, on the death penalty, which means Holmes receives an automatic life sentence with no possibility of parole.

After warning members of the public in the gallery against making any emotional outbursts, Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos Samour began reading the verdict forms.

On each count, he read, the panel had been unable to agree that Holmes should be executed by lethal injection, and that they understood that as a result, the court will impose a sentence of life imprisonment.

Holmes showed no reaction, staring straight ahead, hands in pockets.