Jury selection resumes in Colorado theater shooting

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — More people reported to court today to fill out questionnaires as the long slog toward picking a jury in the Colorado theater shooting case resumed for a second day.

Judge Carlos Samour excused seven people at the start of the proceedings because they were sick, weren’t residents of Arapahoe County, or didn’t speak English.

However, in a sign of how difficult it might be to get excused, a summons for a woman who reported being extremely ill was only delayed.

It could take until June to seat jurors and alternates for the trial of James Holmes, who is charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder in the July 2012 attack that killed 12 people and injured 70 at a suburban Denver movie theater.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Holmes pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Defense attorneys acknowledge Holmes was the gunman but say he was in the grip of a psychotic episode at the time.

In initial court appearances after the shooting, Holmes’ hair was dyed a comic-book shade of orange and he wore a jail jumpsuit and a dazed look.

He appeared more conventional this week. On Wednesday, he was dressed in khaki slacks and dark blazer. He wore glasses; his dark brown hair was neatly trimmed; and he had a curly, medium-length beard.

He sat quietly during the proceedings, his hands in his lap.

No restraints were visible, though the judge had ordered him to be tethered to the floor in a way the public could not see.

Court officials initially summoned 9,000 prospective jurors, but that figure fell to about 7,000 after some summonses could not be delivered and some people were excused. Seven more were dismissed Tuesday for various reasons.