A Colorado judge has entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of James Holmes, the former graduate student accused of killing 12 people and wounding dozens more in a shooting rampage inside a Colorado movie theater last summer.
Holmes' attorney told the court that he was not ready to enter a plea, but the judge entered a not guilty plea for him and said he could change the plea to not guilty by reason of insanity, reports the Associated Press. Holmes sat silent, but alert, throughout the hearing, alternately appearing to look at the judge and stare into space. Holmes, who is facing 166 counts, mostly of murder and manslaughter, has spent the past eight months behind bars. He was reportedly restrained in a psychiatric ward for several days during the fall out of fear he might harm himself.
To be found not guilty by reason of insanity, Holmes has to prove that he did not know right from wrong when he committed the crime of which he is accused. Prosecutors say Holmes planned the massacre well in advance, ordering arms and ammunition through the internet and dressing in paramilitary gear on the night of the assault. Police also found explosives in his apartment that had reportedly been rigged to go off when authorities entered.
News from Nigeria, cbsnews
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