Theater shooting trial set to begin

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — Theater shooting defendant James Holmes sat quietly and leaned back in his chair in court on Tuesday just hours before the start of the arduous process of choosing a jury to decide whether he was sane when he opened fire in a packed Colorado movie theater.

It was the first time Holmes has been seen by the public in civilian clothes since the 2012 shooting. He had no visible restraints, though the judge had ordered him to be tethered to the floor in a way the public couldn’t see for the trial.

An unprecedented jury pool of 9,000 people was initially summoned but later fell to 7,000 after some summons could not be delivered and some people were excused. The pool will be winnowed to a handful in the weeks ahead to hear the death penalty trial that could last until October.

Holmes is accused of killing 12 people and wounding 70 others at a suburban Denver theater.