After one of the longest criminal trials in Colorado history, there are no winners in the Aurora theater shooting case, the state’s top public defender said Friday.
But Colorado Public Defender Doug Wilson said the trial’s outcome — a after jurors split over whether Holmes should receive the death penalty — shows the legal system worked as it is supposed to.
“There’s no winners in this situation,” Wilson said in some of his first public comments about the trial. “Certainly the victims are never going to get their family members back. Those that were injured are going to have a long recovery. We don’t consider this to be a win.”
The team of that handled Holmes’ case declined to speak with The Denver Post.
Wilson, who oversaw the team, said public defenders are legally and ethically bound to provide their clients with the best representation possible. Wilson said the worst day in his life when he represented clients in the courtroom was when a client of his was sentenced to death.
Wilson said he cried in his seat in the courtroom Aug. 7 when the judge read the first verdict form in the theater shooting case. He said the public defenders on the case put their lives on hold for three years and worked tirelessly.
“They’re worn out,” he said. “I’m very proud of the work they did.”
Wilson also acknowledged that prosecutors lived under stress for three years. But above all else, Wilson praised the jurors.
“They’re going to be changed forever as a result of giving up months and months of their lives,” Wilson said.
After nearly seven hours of deliberation, the jury of nine women and three men in the theater shooting case disagreed over whether Holmes should receive the death penalty. The to the media about deliberations said one juror was unconvinced that Holmes should get the death penalty. Two others were undecided, and the remaining nine voted for death.
The result of the split is that Judge Carlos Samour Jr. will sentence Holmes to life in prison without the possibility of parole at a .
Wilson said the case’s outcome was a result of the jurors carefully following the law. The decision to sentence someone to death must be an individual moral choice by every single juror. For anything less than that, the law requires a life sentence, Wilson said.
“I think the state owes them a debt of gratitude and not the criticism that they’re getting,” Wilson said.
