Jury questionnaire in Colorado cinema massacre case finalized
By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Prospective jurors in the upcoming murder trial of accused Colorado theater gunman James Holmes will be asked to respond in writing to at least 75 questions, a court document made public on Tuesday showed. The disclosure was made in an order by Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos Samour that finalized a sealed questionnaire that will be used to screen potential jurors. Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder for opening fire inside a suburban Denver movie theater during a midnight screening of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises." Lawyers defending the 26-year-old Californian have conceded that Holmes was the lone gunman, but say he was in the throes of a psychotic episode at the time of the July 2012 rampage, which killed 12 moviegoers and wounded dozens of others. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty for the onetime neuroscience graduate student if he is convicted. Former Colorado prosecutor Bob Grant said the extensive jury questionnaire will likely center on the death penalty, insanity and the widespread publicity the case has generated. Grant, who prosecuted the only inmate executed in Colorado in 47 years, said potential jurors must indicate that they are willing to follow the law, not necessarily that they are willing to impose a capital sentence on a defendant. "If they do convict, jurors have to then answer the moral question – whether the defendant deserves to be executed for his crimes," Grant said. Samour said jury summonses will be sent to 6,000 county residents, and it could take up to three months to seat a jury. Jury selection is set to begin in December. (Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Sandra Maler)
