Highlighting (already extraordinary) costs of seeking to put Aurora killer on death row

This lengthy new Yahoo News article, headlined "Cost of Colorado theater shooting case exceeds $5 million months before opening arguments," details how much Colorado taxpayers are paying for prosecutors' efforts to get James Holmes on death row. Here are some of the details:

The criminal court case against Colorado theater gunman James Holmes has already absorbed at least $5.5 million in public monies, according to records obtained by Yahoo News. That’s $2 million more than the estimated average cost of a completed Colorado death penalty trial — and the contentious Holmes proceeding is still months away from opening arguments....

Holmes first appeared in court on July 23, 2012, three days after police say he assailed a packed suburban Denver movie theater, killing 12 people and injuring 70, as they were watching a midnight showing of the Batman film “The Dark Knight Rises.” In the two and a half years since that initial court appearance, primary personnel involved with the case — prosecutors, defense attorneys, the judge, court reporter, trial investigators and victims’ advocates for the district attorney — have been paid approximately $4.5 million.

A spokeswoman for the Arapahoe County district attorney said only one prosecutor has been dedicated to the Holmes case full time. But legal observers say a proceeding already involving nearly 1,700 motions, orders and hearings — with possibly hundreds of witnesses expected to testify at trial — would require the undivided attention of a team of lawyers.

Other top expenses so far include $463,000 on additional security from July 2012 through the end of 2014. Experts hired by the prosecution have received more than $220,000 to date. More than $90,000 was used to install a closed-circuit television system in the courtroom. It cost $20,000 to print 9,000 juror notices and questionnaires....

Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity — his lawyers say he was in the throes of a psychotic episode at the time. Twice the judge has ordered him to be transferred to a state hospital for testing to determine if he was mentally capable of understanding the crime he committed. A court spokesman said invoices for the exams have not been received....

Holmes offered to forfeit the costly trial in March 2013 for life in prison without parole if he could avoid the death penalty. Prosecutors, however, strongly rejected any notion of a pending deal, saying the defense had refused to give them the information they wanted to evaluate the plea agreement.

“It is my determination and my intention that in this case, for James Eagan Holmes, justice is death,” Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler said in court.

Holmes is charged with 166 counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and weapons charges. Opening arguments through sentencing could last four to six months — which itself will cost the court $137,000 to $205,000 in juror pay (the 24, including alternates, earn $50 a day)....

As for Holmes, his heavily redacted application for a public defender was approved the same day as the massacre. It was signed by Daniel King, one of his lead attorneys, who currently earns $165,756 and may be eligible for a raise just as the trial gets going. Under state law, Holmes could be ordered to pay a $25 processing fee after the verdict.