Colorado jury hears first plea to save theater shooter's life

Three years to the day that James Holmes ripped hundreds of bullets into a movie theater crowd, maiming dozens and killing 12, his defense team unveiled its plan to keep the mass murderer alive.

Holmes, convicted last week on all 165 counts of First Degree murder and attempted murder, was in court again Monday, this time watching his defense team try to save his life in the final phase of his legal odyssey.

The former Ph.D. candidate at the University of Colorado faces a likely Death Penalty conviction in the next few weeks.

But Holmes, a 3.945 (GPA) undergraduate at University of California-Irvine made some academic fans along the way.

A 5th grade teacher testified Monday by videotape that Holmes was a happy kid, who smiled a lot and earned the respect of his peers.

Paul Karrer, Holmes' teacher in 1998 when he was 10, said Holmes was brilliant, likeable, and had even written the code for a website, showing incredible, early intelligence.

Most importantly, the videotaped interview, that will be shown during the upcoming sentencing phase, describes Holmes as a "normal," well adjusted child prior to the onset of his schizophrenia.

The Sentencing Hearing that will decide life or death for Holmes begins Wednesday.

The jury has indicated it is giving Holmes no breaks: the three men and nine women debated fewer than 10 hours last week before deciding Holmes was guilty for the July 20, 2012 surprise attack on an innocent Batman movie crowd.

The sentencing phase is the last significant step of Holmes' legal journey, and will be held much like a condensed trial.

For a Death Penalty conviction on Colorado, there are several key criteria the jury must agree with before Holmes is sentenced to death by "lethal injection."

If convicted to death, there will be several legal appeals by his attorneys that could prevent his execution for at least a decade.

This week's defense strategy will try to humanize Holmes, while the prosecution is expected to continue its barrage of emotionally charged testimony that has proven to be highly successful with the jury.

Holmes' attorneys will present "mitigating factors," most notably his mental illness, and the normal child he was before his disease advanced during and right after his teen years.

Monday's witness exposed the defense's plan to show Holmes' psychological decline and clear signs of the schizophrenia that ended up consuming him.