Death Penalty Remains Option in Aurora Shooting Trial

A jury has decided in the Aurora massacre trial that the death penalty will remain an option for James Holmes.

Holmes has already been found guilty on all 165 counts related to the July 2012 shooting, which left 12 dead and 70 injured, but the verdict has now been reached in a second phase of the trial.

This afternoon it was announced that the jury has decided that mitigating factors do not outweigh the aggravating factors for the 12 people who were murdered.

Now the jury will move on to the third phase and be faced with deciding whether or not to sentence him to death or life without parole. The judge is reading through all 165 charges, which will likely last for more than an hour.

If today's decision went the other way, then the trial would have effectively ended, sentencing him to life in prison with the death penalty removed as a possible sentence.

During this second phase of the trial, the jury heard from a key psychiatrist, Holmes' relatives, teachers, church leaders, soccer buddies and camp counselor friends.

Get real-time updates as this story unfolds. To start, just "star" this story in ABC News' phone app. Download ABC News for iPhone here or ABC News for Android here. To be notified about our live weekend digital reports, tap here.