At peace with life sentence for Colarado cinema gunman

When the Colorado gunman’s defence lawyer rose to make her closing argument, and the other families of the murder victims of James Holmes walked out of the courtroom, Scott and Kathleen Larimer stayed.

Their 27-year-old son, John, was among the dozen killed in Holmes’ movie theatre rampage, near Denver, three years ago. While other victims’ relatives had no wish to hear a plea for the shooter to be spared the death penalty, the Larimers never considered leaving.

Holmes was sentenced, on Friday, to life in prison, after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision in favor of execution. Often sitting side-by-side in the half of the public gallery reserved for the victims’ families, the Larimers were a constant throughout the 60-day trial.