system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why did James Holmes get 12 life sentences plus 3,318 years if he only has one life to serve?
gpt
Because what if all but one of his convictions got overturned? In his specific case, this wouldn't happen, but it does happen, so judges make it so it is almost impossible for them to become a free person again.