Colorado Prosecutors Make Case For Death Penalty In Holmes Case

James Holmes (L)

DENVER (AP) -- Prosecutors in the deadly Colorado theater shootings say that if suspect James Holmes is convicted, they will argue he should be executed because one of the victims was a child and because the attack was an ambush.

Prosecutors filed a court document on Friday listing aggravating factors they plan to raise in a possible death penalty phase of the trial if the jury convicts Holmes of murder and attempted murder.

Holmes is charged with killing 12 people and injuring 70 in the July 20 shootings. Prosecutors announced three weeks ago they would seek the death penalty.

Also Friday, Holmes' lawyers again suggested they might challenge the constitutionality of state laws on the death penalty and insanity pleas. They say overlapping elements of the laws could violate the Constitution.

Prosecutors may use jail videos of James Holmes in death penalty case

Prosecutors pursuing the death penalty for the Aurora movie theater attack may use recordings of suspect James Holmes taken in the Arapahoe County jail, according to a new court filing Friday.

A list of evidence against Holmes that prosecutors included in the filing says prosecutors may use "[a]ny video and/or audio recording of the defendant and/or any person he interacts with while incarcerated." The possible existence of such recordings — and the fact that prosecutors believe they may help their case — has not been previously revealed.

Source: AP, Denver Post, April 20, 2013