Alleged 'The Dark Knight' Gun Man Charged With 24 Counts Of Murder

'The Dark Knight' gun man, believed to be 24 year-old James Holmes, was formally charged yesterday (July 30th) on 24 counts of murder, two for each of the victims gunned down at the Aurora Theatre in Denver, Ohio . The New York Daily News reports that Holmes rolled his head like a mad man as he heard the judgement. Holmes has been silent so far in the court, but uttered his first word upon being asked if he was aware of his rights - a simple "yes".

However, what followed was more disturbing as the alleged killer's face started contorting in a myriad of directions, at one point gawping at the massacre survivors who'd packed the court room in the hope of seeing such a judgement. At this stage many are viewing Holmes as mentally unsound; he's seemed deranged and bedraggled in court both this week and last, and seemed unaware that he might well be facing the death penalty if found guilty.

That punishment is something that the courts are still weighing up. "Holmes is looking at well over 1,000 years in prison and I doubt he will live that long so this is all about the death penalty Craig Silverman, a former chief deputy district attorney in Denver, told Bloomberg News. "If the death penalty is not obtained against Holmes, that would represent the effective end of capital punishment in Colorado."