Closing arguments in Batman shooter trial

After a 49-day trial, prosecutor George Brauchler and the defense's Daniel King made their final appeals to jurors on Tuesday, but it remained unclear whether deliberations would begin later in the day or wait until Wednesday morning.

James Holmes, now 27, has admitted to attacking the cinema but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

"That guy was sane beyond a reasonable doubt, and he needs to be held accountable for what he did," Brauchler, the district attorney for the counties surrounding the city of Aurora, said in closing arguments.

Creating confusion with smoke bombs, Holmes entered the Aurora cinema on July 20, 2012, and opened fire with an arsenal that included an AR-15 military-style rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and a .40-caliber pistol - killing 12 people and wounding 70. Brauchler stressed the attack's heavy toll on unsuspecting victims who had gone to see the midnight premiere of the Batman installment "The Dark Knight Rises."

"They came in hoping to see the story of a hero dressed in black, someone who would fight insurmountable odds for justice," Brauchler said. "Instead, a different figure appeared by the screen. ... He came there with one thing in his heart and his mind - and that was mass murder."

Holmes faces charges on 165 counts. Prosecutors want him executed.

'The mental illness'

The defense wants Holmes found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to a state mental hospital for an indefinite commitment. Attorneys claimed that schizophrenia had so warped Holmes that he could not tell right from wrong, and that he had fallen into the grip of a psychotic episode after seeking counseling before the attack.

"The mental illness caused this to happen," defense attorney Daniel King said in his closing argument.

Victims and their families wept as Brauchler showed photos of the dead and wounded and recounted their stories. Jurors craned their heads toward the gallery when Brauchler pointed out Caleb Medley, an aspiring standup comedian who lost an eye and suffered brain damage in the attack.

King urged jurors to set aside emotions and decide based on the wording of the statute: "Here in the fortress of the law, there is no room for hatred or revenge or retaliation," he said.

The shooting is one of several recent attacks to focus attention on gun violence in the US.

mkg/cmk (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)