Centennial - The trial of accused mass murderer James Eagan Holmes began Tuesday in Colorado, as the court prepared to select a jury to decide if he was legally sane when he shot 70 people, killing 12, in a Colorado cinema in 2012.
Holmes sat quietly through the morning hearing, occasionally rocking slowly in a low-backed chair and speaking only rarely to his lawyers.
Dressed conservatively in a slate-colored blazer and blue striped shirt, tan trousers and tortoiseshell glasses, he looked more like the neuroscience graduate student he once was than a crazed killer.
The wild orange-dyed hair seen after his arrest photos - when he reportedly told police he was the Batman villain The Joker - was short and dark, and he wore a beard. His hands were free for the hearing - but afterward, court marshals shackled them before leading him, shuffling, out of the courtroom's back entrance.
The morning hearing at Arapahoe District Court confirmed the court's procedure for selecting jurors, and discussed procedural questions about the schedule for the trial, which is expected to take months as jurors sort through mountains of evidence and witnesses accounts of the shootings and their aftermath and Holmes' mental condition.
“What is most important to me is that justice is done,” said Colorado District Judge Carlos Samour, instructing lawyers on courtroom conduct.
The court had summoned 9,000 potential jurors - one of the largest jury pools in US history. Samour said nearly one in five had already been excused, however, bringing the pool down to about 7 000.
The first group of up to 150 will arrive at the court later Tuesday for an orientation film and to fill out screening questionnaires that lawyers for both sides will use to determine their ability to decide the case impartially.
The facts of the case are largely undisputed: On July 20, 2012, Holmes, now 27, left the midnight showing of the Batman film The Dark Knight Rises at the Century 16 cineplex and returned wearing a gas mask and body armour. He carried guns and tear gas and fired them into the audience.
Ten people died in the theatre, and two later in hospital. Seventy were wounded, 58 by gunshots.
Holmes is charged with 166 counts of murder, attempted murder and weapons and explosives violations. Prosecutors have asked for the death penalty.
Through his lawyers, Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity - admitting to the massacre, but arguing he was in the grip of a psychotic episode and not responsible for his actions.
If acquitted, he would be committed to a mental hospital. If he is convicted, the jury will decide whether he should be executed or spend life in prison.
(James Holmes appeared in court Tuesday at the start of his trial for the 2012 Colorado cinema killings. He looked less the crazed killer seen in arrest photos and more the graduate student he once was. His lawyers' task is to convince a jury that he was insane.)
Sapa-dpa