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Holmes Enters Not Guilty By Insanity Plea In Colo. Shootings

An artist's sketch of Colorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes, from an April court appearance.
Bill Robles/Reuters /Landov
An artist's sketch of Colorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes, from an April court appearance.

James Holmes on Monday formally changed his plea from not guilty to "not guilty by reason of insanity" for the July 20, 2012, movie theater shooting rampage in Aurora, Colo., that left 12 people dead and an additional 70 injured.

Holmes' lawyers had said last week that the young man would be doing this.

Now, says The Denver Post, there's a hearing set for May 31 to consider his request. It adds that "Holmes' attorneys told the court that they now have a diagnosis and opinions by qualified professionals." Exactly what that diagnosis is wasn't specified, however.

As the Post reminds readers, "Holmes is charged with 166 counts of murder, attempted murder and other offenses." Denver's KUSA-TV says Holmes, 25, was in the Centennial, Colo., court this morning but did not speak.

Holmes' trial is not expected to begin for several months.

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Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.