According to reports from multiple new sources, the judge presiding over the James Holmes case — where Holmes was charged with the death of 12 people and injuring 58 others at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises .
Now, he’ll have to go through a long pysch evaluation before his trial for the courts to determine whether or not Holmes is truly mentally unfit.
Holmes’ lawyers repeatedly have said he is mentally ill, but they delayed the insanity plea while arguing that state laws were unconstitutional. They said the laws could hobble the defense if Holmes’ case should ever reach the phase where the jury decides if he should be executed. The judge rejected that argument last week.
This doesn’t mean that Holmes is not guilty, but rather, it means that he’s allowed to submit a not guilty by reason of insanity plea. If the jury find him not guilty by reason of insanity, he could be committed to a mental intuition. While he could be discharged if the hospital deems him sane, it seems like that probably won’t happen, according to the AP.
The jury could find Holmes guilty, and sentence him to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.