Colorado shooter James Holmes will find out his fate on Monday over whether he'll receive the death penalty after killing 12 people in an Aurora movie theater massacre on July 20, 2012.

According to the Daily News, the prosecution and defense teams are in the midst of a battle over Holmes' offer to plead guilty. However, the two sides could still come to an agreement that could salvage Holmes' life in exchange for a life in prison sentence.

"Even if they give notice on Monday that they are seeking the death penalty, they can come off that and enter into a plea bargain any time," said attorney Dan Recht, former president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar.

During a court filing, the defense team had revealed last week that Holmes would plea guilty if prosecutors would allow him to live his life in prison without any chance of parole instead of executing him. 

However, the respective predicament ignited anger from the prosecution team, who feel as though it's nothing more than an attempt to garner public support for a plea bargain.

As the highly publicized case makes its return to the courtroom on Monday, both the survivors and victims' families are still unsure of what will happen moving forward.

"It could be 10 or 15 years before he's executed. I would be in my 40s and I'm planning to have a family, and the thought of having to look back and reliving everything at that point in my life, it would be difficult," said Pierce O'Farrill, who had been shot three times. 

Tags: James Holmes