Prosecutors seek death penalty for cinema killer

Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty against the man accused in last year’s cinema attack that killed 12, wounded 70, and spurred new gun control laws in Colorado.

The much-anticipated disclosure came in a court hearing held four days after prosecutors rejected an offer by James Holmes’s lawyers that the former neuroscience graduate student would plead guilty to avoid execution.

Prosecutors had said the defence proposal was not a valid plea bargain offer, although they could still agree to a plea before the case goes to trial.