The man accused of opening fire in a crowded movie theater on July 20 was formally charged with 24 counts of first-degree murder and 116 counts of attempted murder this morning in a Colorado courtroom. .

Joshua Lott/Getty Images
Joshua Lott/Getty Images
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Holmes did appear in court this morning but, due to a request by the defense, no cameras were allowed in the courtroom.

12 people were killed and 58 were injured during the rampage and it appears that Holmes was charged with two counts of murder for each victim. Holmes also faces additional charges of attempted murder and one count of possession of explosives. You may recall that Holmes’ apartment was rigged to explode.

The judge also has placed a gag order on lawyers and law enforcement, sealing the court file and barring the University of Colorado,Denver from releasing public records relating to Holmes' year there as a neuroscience graduate student. A consortium of media organizations, including The Associated Press and CBS, is challenging Sylvester's sealing of the court file.

Legal analyst are predicting a plea of “insanity” from Holmes’ defense since there really is no other plea, other than “guilty” that would be applicable in the case. As a former chief deputy district attorney said, “This is not a whodunit. The only possible defense is insanity.”

 

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