James Holmes Update: Accused Colorado movie theater shooter requests insanity plea

(AP) DENVER - The suspect in the deadly Colorado movie theater shootings asked a judge Monday to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, a move that is widely seen as James Holmes' best hope of avoiding the death penalty.

PICTURES: The Colorado massacre suspect

Holmes is charged with murder and attempted murder in the July 20 attack in Aurora that killed 12 and injured 70.

Attorney Daniel King made the request in court, saying attorneys now have a diagnosis for James Holmes. He didn't specify what it was.

The judge said he would consider arguments first about constitutional questions the defense has raised about Colorado's insanity law. He was expected to decide whether to accept a new plea sometime before a May 31 hearing.

Holmes had bushy hair and a beard at Monday's hearing. He didn't speak.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. They say Holmes, a former neuroscience graduate student, spent months acquiring weapons and ammunition, scouting a movie theater in the Denver suburb of Aurora and booby-trapping his apartment.

Then on July 20, dressed in a police-style helmet and body armor, he opened fire during a packed midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises," prosecutors say.

No motive has emerged in nearly 10 months of hearings, but Holmes' attorneys have repeatedly said their client is mentally ill. He was being treated by a psychiatrist before the attack.

A judge entered a standard not guilty plea on Holmes' behalf in March, and Holmes needs the court's permission to change it.

Holmes' lawyers have held off on changing his plea until now, fearing a wrinkle in the law could cripple their ability to raise his mental health as a mitigating factor during the sentencing phase.

Two judges have refused to rule on the constitutionality of the law, saying the attorneys' objections were hypothetical because Holmes had not pleaded insanity. The defense had little choice but to have Holmes enter the plea and then challenge the law.

The insanity plea carries risks for both sides. Holmes will have to submit to a mental evaluation by state-employed doctors, and prosecutors could use the findings against him.

"It's literally a life-and-death situation with the government seeking to execute him and the government, the same government, evaluating him with regard to whether he was sane or insane at the time he was in that movie theater," said attorney Dan Recht, a past president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar.

Among the risks for prosecutors: They must convince jurors beyond a reasonable doubt that Holmes was sane. If they don't, state law requires the jury to find him not guilty by reason of insanity.

"That's a significant burden on the prosecution," Recht said.

If acquitted, Holmes would be committed to the state mental hospital indefinitely.

The mental evaluation could take weeks or months. Evaluators will interview Holmes, his friends and family, and if Holmes permits it, they'll also speak with mental health professionals who treated him in the past, said Dr. Howard Zonana, a professor of psychiatry and adjunct professor of law at Yale University.

Evaluators may give Holmes standardized personality tests and compare his results to those of people with documented mental illness. They will also look for any physical brain problems.

Complete coverage of the Colorado movie theater shooting on Crimesider