Colorado shooting suspect to enter plea of ​​insanity

DENVER (AP) - The man accused in the deadly shooting attacks theater Colorado wants to change his plea of ​​not guilty by reason of insanity, his lawyers said on Tuesday, despite fears that the plea could seriously hamper ability to mount a defense against the death penalty.
              James Holmes is charged with more than 160 counts of murder and attempted murder in July 20 attack on a packed cinema Aurora that killed 12 and injured 70. Prosecutors announced last month they would seek the death penalty.
              Holmes was widely expected to plead insanity gave compelling evidence against him, but his lawyers said for weeks, saying state laws on the death penalty and the overlap of madness in a manner that would violate his constitutional rights and the ability to mount an effective defense.
               One of their concerns: If Holmes does not cooperate with the doctors who evaluate his mental state at the psychiatric hospital, he could not be allowed to call witnesses to testify about his mental state during the penalty . This would make it almost impossible for his lawyers to use his mental condition as an argument against the death penalty.
               "If you do not cooperate during the assessment phase, you lose the right to call witnesses in your own name that could help convince a jury that your life should be spared," said Karen Steinhauser, a professor Law and former deputy prosecutor.
               Two judges have refused to address the question of constitutionality, saying Holmes could not challenge the law of insanity unless he first entered a plea of ​​insanity. This gave his lawyers no choice but to get in the middle and then try to make their case against the law.
              Their filing Tuesday made it clear that they did not waive their right to challenge laws, Steinhauser said.
              Holmes had to plead on March 12, but his lawyers said he refused to do so because the constitutional issues prevented them from giving him good advice. The judge in charge at the time, William Sylvester, has pleaded not guilty to his standard.
               Sylvester withdrew from the case on April 1, saying his administrative duties as chief judge of the district would not allow sufficient time. Sylvester assigned District Judge Carlos Samur take over.
Samur must approve the new way before Holmes is allowed to enter, and he has already said he would ask for an explanation before it exits. Steinhauser said she does not think it will be a problem.
             Samur said he would hear the arguments of the defense and prosecutors on the new plea at a hearing Monday.
               If the judge accept the plea, Holmes would be sent to the state psychiatric hospital, where doctors would determine whether he was sane at the time of the shooting. If doctors determine Holmes was insane, a jury could still find him guilty.
              Holmes lawyers repeatedly told the hearings and documents that Holmes is a mentally ill criminal. He was seen by a psychiatrist before the attack.
                Holmes sent the psychiatrist a laptop that media reports included crude drawings of violence. Prosecutors can renew their request to see the laptop, because the state law gives them access to the medical records of defendants who plead not guilty by reason of insanity.
                Prosecutors have backtracked on their previous attempt to see the notebook when lawyers Holmes said he was protected by doctor-patient privilege.
               It is not known how long the mental assessment would, but it would further delay the proceedings, which have already taken nearly 10 months. The trial is not expected to begin until February 3 and same can probably be rejected by the mental evaluation.
                 Tom Sullivan, whose son Alex was killed in the attack, said prosecutors have warned that victims of an insanity plea would delay the case.
                "We're just mortified that this is the process we go through, and we still have a long way to go," Sullivan said Tuesday. "I know that justice will prevail in the end."
Prosecutors declined to comment.
         Colorado law defines insanity as the inability to distinguish good from evil, caused by a defective or diseased mind. The law specifically excludes depravity "moral obliquity" and passion provoked by anger, hatred or other emotions to be considered madness.
                Prosecutors say Holmes, 25, has spent months buy weapons and thousands of ammunition, donned police style bulletproof vest and opened fire at a midnight screening of the latest Batman film.
Last month, prosecutors filed a court document listing the aggravating factors they intend to increase in a possible death penalty phase of the trial. The factors included the death of six years, Veronica Moser-Sullivan, the youngest of the dead.
               Prosecutors also said in the filing that the murders were "especially heinous, cruel or depraved."
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Associated Press writers Nicholas Riccardi and Catherine Tsai contributed to this report.
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