James Holmes, the suspect in the deadly Colorado theater shootings last July, decided to change his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity, his lawyers announced on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
They said in a court filing they plan to formally ask for the change of plea at a May 13 hearing.
A judge in the case previously entered a standard not guilty plea for Holmes. If the judge accepts the new plea, Holmes would be sent to the state mental hospital, where doctors would determine whether he was insane at the time of the July 20 shootings. Irregardless if the doctors do determine that Holmes was insane, a jury could still find him guilty.
Colorado law defines insanity as the inability to distinguish right from wrong, caused by a diseased or a defective mind. The law excludes depravity, "moral obliquity" or passion as caused by anger or hatred from being considered insanity.
The insanity plea was widely expected given the compelling evidence against Holmes. He is charged with 166 counts of murder and attempted murder.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, something they said they concluded would be best after speaking with family members of the victims of the shootings.
Holmes' attorneys have said in court hearings and written in court documents that Holmes is mentally ill. He had seen a psychiatrist leading up to the July 20 attack that killed 12 people and injured 70.
Prosecutors say Holmes spent months buying guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition. He donned police-style body armor and opened fire in the crowded theater in the Denver suburb of Aurora.
Holmes could be executed if convicted.
