James Holmes, the Colorado man accused of killing 12 people in a movie theater back in July, wants to change his plea from not guilty to insanity.
Holmes faces 166 charges for the killing spree he went on during the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado.
According to USA Today, prosecutors are seeking to sentence Holmes to the death penalty, and defense lawyers are going to try to prove he killed a dozen people and injured many more than that by reason of insanity.
Theresa Hoover, who’s son was killed by Holmes in the spree, disagrees with what lawyers will try to prove.
"What he did was nothing short of evil. He absolutely knew what he was doing was wrong," she said. "I think he's evil, and there's a difference between evil and crazy. I don't think he's insane by any means."
Former Colorado prosecutor Pete Maguire weighed in, saying "The question is not whether or not he's mentally ill. The question is whether he is legally insane under the statute."
The next step will be for doctors to evaluate Holmes at the state mental hospital in Pueblo, Colorado, The Denver Post reports. However, Holmes needs to show “good cause” for his lawyers to change the plea.
Insanity pleas are required to be entered at the arraignment stage, which happened in March. After his attorneys refused to enter a plea then, a judge entered a plea of not guilty.