Holmes Death Penalty Decision: Why Does The Murder Case Have A New Judge?

Prosecutors in Arapahoe County, Colo. have decided to seek the death penalty against accused mass murderer James Eagan Holmes if Holmes is found guilty of shooting numerous people during a midnight premiere of the "Dark Knight Rises" in July 2012. "Justice is death," District Attorney George Brauchler said of Holmes, noting that his office had contacted 800 victims of Holmes' senseless rampage last year.

As Holmes was lead into court Monday, he reportedly said and did nothing other than glancing over at his parents, Arlene and Robert Holmes, who were in the courtroom during the proceedings.

Holmes allegedly killed 12 people and wounded more than 58 others inside an Aurora, Colo., theater last year. CNN reports Holmes' death penalty decision hinges on the 166 counts charged against him. Other than Texas, which notably executes a reliable number of inmates per year, Colorado has only executed one, convicted rapist and murderer Gary Lee Davis, in 1997.

Therefore even if Holmes is given the death penalty, "it will probably never be imposed," as CNN's Paul Callan said. That being said, a sentence of life in prison would give little closure to many of the victims' families. Callan called the Holmes murder trial the "poster boy" for the death penalty in the Centennial State.

As the Latin Times previously reported, Holmes' lawyers have called for a life sentence in exchange for a guilty plea. But, the case's former judge, William Blair Sylvester, was not amused by the offer. Sylvester recently stepped down from the case, citing that he could not run the court and preside over such a high profile and likely lengthy case at the same time.

Judge Carlos Samour, Jr., has been named to adjudicate the trial that may lead to Holmes receiving the death penalty. Samour originally immigrated to the United States from El Salvador in 1979 when he was a teenager. He later attended another Colorado crime landmark, Columbine High School where, in 1999, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 15 and wounded almost two dozen more people.

The official start date for the trial is August 5, where Holmes' death penalty decision will be made.