Theater Shooting Suspect Wants Sanity Exam Tossed
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) - Defense attorneys for the suspect in the Colorado movie theater shooting want a judge to toss out the most recent report on his sanity.
In a motion filed Thursday, attorneys for James Holmes asked the judge to strike the exam from evidence or limit testimony from the doctor who conducted it. They say the examination is unreliable.
The results of the evaluation have not been released.
Other motions ask the judge to bar video recordings of the exam and exclude certain statements allegedly made by Holmes.
Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges of killing 12 people and injuring 70 in the July 20, 2012, attack. The motions were a sign that Holmes' mental state will be a focal point during his trial.
He underwent an initial mandatory sanity evaluation last year, but the key finding - whether he could tell right from wrong - was not released.
Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. ordered the second sanity evaluation in January, after prosecutors said the doctor who conducted the first one was biased. Samour agreed it was flawed.
The evaluation is not the final word on whether Holmes was insane at the time of the attack, but it is a key piece of evidence that jurors will consider when making that determination.
A judge has postponed jury selection from December to January to give defense attorneys more time to study the second sanity exam.
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