Jurors moved a step closer toward sentencing James Holmes to death for his Colorado cinema attack, taking less than three hours to reject arguments that his mental illness means he should not die.

Colorado’s long-awaited cinema massacre trial began yesterday, with jurors asked to decide whether gunman James Holmes was insane when he killed a dozen filmgoers in 2012, or a calculating mass murderer who deserves execution.

Jury selection in the Colorado theatre shooting case has entered its final stage with attorneys questioning prospective jurors as a large group.

The man accused of carrying out the Colorado cinema shootings wants to change his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity, his lawyers said, despite their fears that it could severely hamper his ability mount a defence against the death penalty.