Holmes' defense team got to go through his apartment today, accompanied by law enforcement and prosecutors.

Their goal is going to be to save Holmes' life, not deny he committed the shootings:

"Under any scenario, he will spend every day, for the rest of his life, locked up. He's going to die in prison or the state hospital. Those are his only options," said attorney David Lane. "I think the public defenders are taking a position that anything they can do to prevent him from being executed is a step in the right direction."

A competency challenge could come soon. In Colorado, competency means (C.R.S. 16-8.5-101 (2011):

"Competent to proceed" means that the defendant does not have a mental disability or developmental disability that prevents the defendant from having sufficient present ability to consult with the defendant's lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding in order to assist in the defense or prevents the defendant from having a rational and factual understanding of the criminal proceedings.

.... "Incompetent to proceed" means that, as a result of a mental disability or developmental disability, the defendant does not have sufficient present ability to consult with the defendant's lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding in order to assist in the defense, or that, as a result of a mental disability or developmental disability, the defendant does not have a rational and factual understanding of the criminal proceedings.

The difference between a mental disability and a developmental disability:

(12) "Mental disability" means a substantial disorder of thought, mood, perception, or cognitive ability that results in marked functional disability, significantly interfering with adaptive behavior. "Mental disability" does not include acute intoxication from alcohol or other substances, or any condition manifested only by antisocial behavior, or any substance abuse impairment resulting from recent use or withdrawal. However, substance abuse that results in a long-term, substantial disorder of thought, mood, or cognitive ability may constitute a mental disability.

... (9) "Developmental disability" means a disability that has manifested before the person reaches twenty-two years of age, that constitutes a substantial disability to the affected individual, and is attributable to mental retardation or other neurological conditions when such conditions result in impairment of general intellectual functioning or adaptive behavior similar to that of a person with mental retardation. Unless otherwise specifically stated, the federal definition of "developmental disability", 42 U.S.C. sec. 15001 et seq., shall not apply.

Competency can be raised by either the Judge on his own motion or by either of the parties. (C.R.S. 16-8.5-102 (2011)

(a) If the judge has reason to believe that the defendant is incompetent to proceed, it is the judge's duty to suspend the proceeding and determine the competency or incompetency of the defendant pursuant to section 16-8.5-103.

Either side can ask for a second competency evaluation if it disagrees with the first one. How competency is determined:

16-8.5-103. Determination of competency to proceed (time periods were extended by a few days in 2012. New times are included below.)

(1) Whenever the question of a defendant's competency to proceed is raised, by either party or on the court's own motion, the court may make a preliminary finding of competency or incompetency, which shall be a final determination unless a party to the case objects within fourteen days after the court's preliminary finding.

(2) If either party objects to the court's preliminary finding, or if the court determines that it has insufficient information to make a preliminary finding, the court shall order that the defendant be evaluated for competency by the department and that the department prepare a court-ordered report.

(3) Within fourteen days after receipt of the court-ordered report, either party may request a hearing or a second evaluation.

(4) If a party requests a second evaluation, any pending requests for a hearing shall be continued until the receipt of the second evaluation report. The report of the expert conducting the second evaluation shall be completed and filed with the court within sixty-five days after the court order allowing the second evaluation, unless the time period is extended by the court for good cause. If the second evaluation is requested by the court, it shall be paid for by the court.

If Holmes is declared competent, his lawyers might raise an insanity defense. The alleged months of planning the shootings may be relevant, but they don't foreclose the defense. As David Lane says:

"Don't confuse intelligence with insanity," said Lane. "You can have meticulous planning and you're operating under a delusion system that is completely not based in reality."

Insanity in Colorado C.R.S. 16-8-101.5 (2011):

(1) The applicable test of insanity shall be:

(a) A person who is so diseased or defective in mind at the time of the commission of the act as to be incapable of distinguishing right from wrong with respect to that act is not accountable; except that care should be taken not to confuse such mental disease or defect with moral obliquity, mental depravity, or passion growing out of anger, revenge, hatred, or other motives and kindred evil conditions, for, when the act is induced by any of these causes, the person is accountable to the law; or

(b) A person who suffered from a condition of mind caused by mental disease or defect that prevented the person from forming a culpable mental state that is an essential element of a crime charged, but care should be taken not to confuse such mental disease or defect with moral obliquity, mental depravity, or passion growing out of anger, revenge, hatred, or other motives and kindred evil conditions because, when the act is induced by any of these causes, the person is accountable to the law.

(2) As used in subsection (1) of this section:

(a) "Diseased or defective in mind" does not refer to an abnormality manifested only by repeated criminal or otherwise antisocial conduct.

(b) "Mental disease or defect" includes only those severely abnormal mental conditions that grossly and demonstrably impair a person's perception or understanding of reality and that are not attributable to the voluntary ingestion of alcohol or any other psychoactive substance but does not include an abnormality manifested only by repeated criminal or otherwise antisocial conduct.

The insanity procedure: If at the arraignment (which comes after the preliminary hearing in Colorado), Holmes enters a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity:

(1) When a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity is accepted, the court shall forthwith commit the defendant for a sanity examination, specifying the place and period of commitment.

(2) Upon receiving the report of the sanity examination, the court shall immediately set the case for trial. Every person is presumed to be sane; but, once any evidence of insanity is introduced, the people have the burden of proving sanity beyond a reasonable doubt.

If the jury were to find him not guilty by reason of insanity:

If the trier of fact finds the defendant not guilty by reason of insanity, the court shall commit the defendant to the custody of the department of human services until such time as the defendant is found eligible for release. The executive director of the department of human services shall designate the state facility at which the defendant shall be held for care and psychiatric treatment and may transfer the defendant from one facility to another if in the opinion of the director it is desirable to do so in the interest of the proper care, custody, and treatment of the defendant or the protection of the public or the personnel of the facilities in question.

It's understandable that people want information that could shed light on how an individual could commit such a heinous act. But a criminal case is now underway, one with the potential for the death penalty. James Holmes isn't getting bond.

Since this case is not a "who done it" and everyone knows it, the media seems to have shifted from its usual guilt-based mode of reporting to a competition mode in which each outlet vies to be the first to report new incendiary details. They don't care whether they are right or wrong, they just want to be top media dog. It has all the class of a food-fight.

The media should be less concerned with how many times they use his name and more with responsible reporting of facts. Unauthorized leaks only serve to prejudice the potential jury pool, providing a potential avenue for appellate relief. Let the system work as designed so that all interested persons -- which includes everyone in the State of Colorado since the District Attorney represents us all -- can get a fair trial with an ultimate verdict we can trust.

Update: One Aurora shooting survivor who was shot three times says having seen Holmes in court, he forgives him. He believes he's a lost soul and wants to pray for him.