A judge Friday ordered Colorado theater shooter James Holmes to pay about $955,000 in restitution to the victims of his 2012 movie theater shooting — money the imprisoned mass killer likely will never pay.
District Court Judge Carlos A. Samour, who presided over Holmes’ months-long trial, said there is no question many people “endured, and continue to endure, undue suffering and hardship” because of the attack.
“Nothing can ever make the victims whole for the harms suffered at the hands of the defendant,” Samour wrote in his order. He added Holmes is under a moral and legal obligation to make full restitution to his victims.
Holmes murdered 12 people and injured 70 during a midnight showing of the Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” in the Denver suburb of Aurora. In August, Samour sentenced him to 12 consecutive life terms without parole plus 3,318 years.
The judgment orders $851,000 of the restitution to be sent to the state victim compensation fund, and another $103,000 to be paid directly to victims. Prosecutors requested the amount for psychiatric care, medical equipment, lost wages and other needs.
