Trevor Hughes

USA TODAY

DENVER — In a letter to prosecutors released Friday, the parents of accused Aurora movie theater killer James Holmes asked for his life to be spared.

Holmes faces the death penalty in connection with the 12 shooting deaths at a suburban Denver movie theater in July 2012. Jury summons last week were sent to to 9,000 potential jurors for a trial that's expected to begin in earnest in the spring or early summer.

In their letter, Holmes' parents say their son suffers from mental illness and begged prosecutors to agree to a plea deal that would see him locked up for life and spared execution. Holmes pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and has undergone two formal — and still confidential — mental-health evaluations.

"We realize treatment in an institution would be best for our son. We love our son, we have always loved him, and we do not want him to be executed," Robert and Arlene Holmes wrote in a letter distributed to Denver media Friday morning. "We also decry the need for a trial. A lengthy trial requires everyone to relive those horrible moments in time, causing additional trauma.

"We do not know how many victims of the theater shooting would like to see our son killed. But we are aware of people's sentiments," they wrote. "We have read postings on the Internet that have likened him to a monster. He is not a monster. He is a human being gripped by a severe mental illness."

The letter is the first substantive comments in years from Holmes' parents, who attend most of the court hearings. Both prosecutors and defense lawyers are under a gag order preventing them from discussing the case publicly. His parents attended a Dec. 8 hearing, and Holmes — wearing a red jumpsuit and red tortoiseshell glasses, his reddish-brown hair and beard neatly trimmed — seemed to briefly acknowledge their presence before taking his seat.

Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to killing 12 people and injuring 63 in the July 2012 shooting at Aurora's Century 16 theater, which was packed with moviegoers watching a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises.

Holmes' lawyers acknowledge that Holmes, a former neuroscience doctoral student, was the lone shooter but said he was gripped in a psychotic episode.

Prosecutors contend the death penalty is appropriate in this case. They argue that Holmes may have been disturbed but knew what he was doing. Police say Holmes' apartment was booby trapped with explosives intended to hurt anyone entering it after he left for the theater that night.

"In this case, for James Egan Holmes, justice is death," District Attorney George Brauchler said in April 2013.

Brauchler on Friday declined to comment on the letter, citing the ongoing gag order. The Holmes' plea comes as Denver-area residents are receiving summons to report to the Arapahoe County Justice Center next month for screening as potential jurors in the case.

The judge conducting the trial said it may take several months to find a suitable jury and sufficient alternates to hear both the trial and the death-penalty phase of the case.

Shooting victim Marcus Weaver said that while he's personally forgiven Holmes for the attack that killed one of his friends, "he will still have to answer to the people of Colorado for the horrific act that he carefully orchestrate."

Weaver said in a statement that he's praying for everyone involved, especially this close to the holidays. Weaver, who was shot in the upper arm, previously has urged Holmes to plead guilty and accept his punishment.

"No one is going to be smiling and happy … during this trial, but my hope is that it will began closure for the many victims, families and survivors still hurting," Weaver wrote. "Vengeance is the Lord's, and we will just have to ride this out on the national stage."

At a January 2013 preliminary hearing, prosecutors presented seemingly overwhelming evidence that showed Holmes methodically planning his July 20 attack at Aurora's Century 16 theater complex, buying an assault rifle, shotgun, two semiautomatic pistols, more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition, bomb-making material and other gear for nearly two months before the shootings.

Photos from his cellphone showed he had staked out the rear of the theater and exit doors before the shootings. Aurora police arrested Holmes in the rear of the theater parking lot minutes after the attack.

While they attend most of the court hearings, Holmes' parents rarely interact with him. Instead they sit quietly in the audience, listening to the defense team trying to save his life.

Attorney and legal analyst Scott Robinson said the trial, despite all the evidence, is a single-issue case about Holmes' sanity.

"They couldn't have more evidence," he said. "They've got him dead to rights. It's got to be an insanity case because (his attorneys have) got nothing else."

Robinson said the case's complexity rivals that of the trials following the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.