'Batman' theater gunman faces sentencing, three years

Los Angeles

"Batman" theater gunman James Holmes will be back in court Wednesday to face sentencing, a week after his conviction over the 2012 massacre that left 12 dead and 70 more injured in Colorado. 

Prosecutors are pressing for the death penalty for the 27-year-old,  who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the sentencing phase of the trial, which climaxed days before the third anniversary Monday of the massacre.

Judge Carlos Samour has said he hopes the punishment phase of the trial  which could also jail him for life without parole  will end sometime in August.

Holmes was found guilty Thursday of opening fire during a packed screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado, in a meticulously-planned attack wearing body armor and using tear gas to prevent victims escaping.

The sentencing part of the trial comprises three phases, which the jury takes one by one progressing to the next phase depending on their finding in the previous one. 

In the first phase, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the crimes included at least one aggravating factor. These include killing a child under 12, and acting in a "heinous, cruel, or depraved manner." 

If that is proved, the defense gets to present its case for mitigating factors, which could include that Holmes's ability to tell right from wrong was significantly impaired, or that he was under particular duress. 

Only if they reject the defense case do jurors move on to the third and final phase, to decide whether the prosecution has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the death penalty is the appropriate sentence.