Alleged Colorado mass killer James Holmes may plead guilty to avoid death ... - New York Daily News

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[h=4]RJ Sangosti/AP[/h][h=4]James Holmes may plead guilty to avoid the death penalty.[/h]
Colorado movie-theater shooting suspect James Holmes may plead guilty to committing the mass murder in a bid to avoid the death penalty, his attorneys say.
A deal would instead allow him to spend the rest of his life in prison.
RELATED: ACCUSED AURORA MASS KILLER CONSIDERING INSANITY PLEA
The Aurora shooting in July at a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” left 12 dead and 70 injured. Holmes, a 25-year-old former grad student, was apprehended outside the suburban Denver movie theater and has been held in custody since.

[h=4]Karl Gehring/AP[/h][h=4]People gathered outside the Century 16 movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado, to bear witness and mourn.[/h]
A filing released Wednesday revealed the prosecution hasn’t accepted the deal because “it may choose to pursue the death penalty,” which the deal would prohibit, The Coloradoan reported.
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His defense team had been laying the groundwork for an insanity plea in the eight months since Holmes first appeared in court with glazed eyes and a mop of spiky orange hair.
But, Wednesday’s filing read that "Mr. Holmes is currently willing to resolve the case to bring the proceedings to a speedy and definite conclusion."

[h=4]BOB PEARSON/EPA[/h][h=4]The Century 16 Theater in the Town Center Mall in Aurora, Colorado, was the site of a rampage that killed 12 and left scores wounded.[/h]
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Earlier this month, a judge entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Holmes, whom his attorney said was not ready to enter a plea. A trial is currently scheduled to begin Aug. 5.
Prosecutors claim Holmes, who now sports brown hair and a bushy beard a few shades darker than his red prison jumpsuit, can’t prevail with an insanity plea because he planned the massacre for months, amassing an arsenal of high-powered weapons and booby-trapping his apartment to kill anyone who tried to enter after the mass shooting.
RELATED: JUDGE ENTERS NOT GUILTY PLEA FOR AURORA SHOOTER JAMES HOLMES
On the night of the attack, Holmes donned a police-style helmet, a gas mask, and body armor, prosecutors said, before he opened fire and tossed a gas canister into the seats.
If the case went to trial and if a jury found him insane, Holmes would be committed indefinitely to a state mental hospital. He would have a glimmer of hope of being freed — if doctors determine he is cured.
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