James Holmes Trial Begins In Colorado

(Associated Press) - A public defender says James Holmes was insane when he opened fire in a crowded Colorado movie theater in 2012.

Public defender Daniel King said during his opening statement in Holmes' trial that his client was having a psychotic break and was not in control of his thoughts, his actions or ``what he perceived as reality'' at the time of the attack.

``By the time Holmes stepped into theater, his perception of reality was so skewed, he no longer lived in the same world we live in,'' King said. ``But to him, it seemed as real as this seems to you right now.''

The prosecutor says two psychiatric exams found James Holmes to be sane as he meticulously plotted the attack. District Attorney George Brauchler says Holmes considered other locations and methods for his attack, including biological warfare, before deciding on a mass shooting. He says Holmes picked the Century 16 theater in Aurora in part because it had doors he could lock to increase casualties.

Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to killing 12 people and injuring 70 in the mass shooting in the Denver suburb of Aurora.