RJ SANGOSTI/AFP/GettyImages
By Gary Strauss, USA TODAY
CENTENNIAL, Colo. - The man accused of the Colorado theater shooting
won't have to enter a plea until March, a ruling by the judge that
upset family members of victims who were sitting in court Friday.
"Rot in hell, Holmes!" yelled Steve Hernandez, the father of Rebecca Wingo, who was killed in the theater massacre.
Other
family members could be heard muttering under their breaths after Judge
William Sylvester granted a defense motion to delay the arraignment of
James Holmes until March 12. The decision came a day after Sylvester
ruled that Holmes should stand trial on charges he killed 12 people and
injured nearly 60 others in an Aurora, Colo., movie theater shooting
last summer.
Defense lawyer Tamara Brady said Friday the defense
needed more time to look over all the evidence in the case. Prosecutors
have said evidence includes more than 30,000 pages of discovery, 358
computer discs, 220 DVDs and 136 CDs.
Although it had been widely
expected that Holmes would enter an insanity plea, Brady said Friday
that "an insanity defense is speculative at this point."
Hernandez
was quickly surrounded by sheriff's deputies after his outburst.
Sylvester then met with members of the defense and prosecution teams
and, about 20 minutes later, reconvened the court.
Hernandez told the judge "I meant no disrespect. I promise no further outbursts."
Before
his ruling, Sylvester had said that the court completely "empathized
with the victims who need closure," but that he wanted to make sure
everything was done so there was no chance of retrying the case in a
couple of years.
After Hernandez's outburst, Sylvester reiterated
that he empathized with family members of the victims of the shooting,
adding that he couldn't imagine what Hernandez was going through.