During James Holmes’s trial, the Colorado theater shooting suspect pleads not guilty indirectly, as a Colorado judge entered the plea on his behalf.

Holmes, a former graduate student, is accused of killing 12 people and wounding scores more in a shooting rampage inside a Colorado movie theater last summer. Holmes came in shooting the late-night viewers of the blockbuster hit and Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises.

According to a report by the Associated Press, Holmes’ attorney said that he was not ready to enter a plea, but the judge entered a not guilty plea for him and said he could change the plea to not guilty by reason of insanity.

The Colorado theater shooting suspect sat steady and silent, but very much alert, throughout the trial. He alternately seemed to be looking at the judge and staring into space. He is facing 166 counts, mostly of murder and manslaughter, and has spent the past eight months behind bars.

While in prison, it was reported that he was restrained in a psychiatric ward for several days during the fall, out of fear he might harm himself.

For Holmes to be found not guilty by reason of insanity, he has to prove that he did not know the difference between right from wrong when he committed the crime for which he is accused.

Prosecutors say that Holmes planned the massacre well in advance, ordering arms and ammunition online and dressing in paramilitary gear the night he conducted the assault. Police also found explosives in his apartment that head reportedly been set-up to explode when authorities entered.

Holmes is considered in many fronts though, an anomaly. He has no connections or relations with any of his victims and unlike other mass shooters – Adam Lanza, Eric Harris and Dylan Kleibold – he did not commit suicide.

Some say that parallels can be drawn between Holmes and Jared Loughner, the man who opened fire outside a Tucson supermarket in January 2011. He killed 6 people and wounded 13 others including former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Loughner, a diagnosed schizoprenic, was initially ruled not competent to stand trial, but after more than a year of treatment inside a federal prison, he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. He was eventually sentenced to life without parole.

The District Attorney will announce on April 1 whether he intends to seek the death penalty for Holmes. Holmes’ defense attorney requested more time to prepare.