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district-court

Colorado movie gunman gets life sentence, jurors not unanimous

By Keith Coffman CENTENNIAL, Colo. (Reuters) – A Colorado jury sentenced movie rampage gunman James Holmes to life in prison on Friday, rejecting the death penalty for the 27-year-old who entered a midnight showing of a Batman movie wearing a gas mask, helmet and body armor and shot dead a dozen people. After warning members of the public in the gallery against making any emotional outbursts, Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos Samour began reading the verdict forms. On each count, he read, the panel had been unable to agree that Holmes should be executed by lethal injection, and that they understood that as a result, the court will impose a sentence of life imprisonment.

Judge temporarily blocks Tennessee surgical center abortion law

The law signed in May by Republican Governor Bill Haslam applies to all clinics that perform 50 abortions or more annually and was due to take effect on July 1. A company that operates abortion clinics in Nashville and Bristol filed a lawsuit on Thursday challenging the requirements and asked U.S. District Court Judge Kevin Sharp to block the law from taking effect, saying it was impossible to meet the deadline for licensing. The state health department did not make applications available until June 16, will not issue a license to a clinic until it has a full set of architectural plans to review, and requires a clinic to pass a site inspection scheduled with up to 45 days of advanced notice, Sharp’s order said.