Prosecutors in the Colorado theater shooting case, say the plea offer from the alleged gunman James Holmes was a publicity ploy, The Denver Post is reporting.
The paper adds:
"In a court filing Thursday, prosecutors write that they have asked Holmes and his attorneys to provide 'specific access to information that would allow them to fully assess the Defendant and his alleged acts for purposes of determining a just outcome to this case.' They say Holmes and his attorneys have repeatedly denied access to that information.
"Because of that, prosecutors say Holmes' offer — which his attorneys disclosed in a court filing Wednesday — is not acceptable.
"'There is not — and has never been — an actual or unqualified 'offer' to plead guilty,' they write in the Thursday filing."
On Wednesday, Holmes' defense attorneys said that he was willing to plead guilty to the shootings — which left 12 dead and nearly 60 wounded — to avoid the death penalty.
Denver's 9 News reports that the prosecution said there was no reason for defense to make an intent to plea public in a filing. They argued that the revelation "violated the judge's gag order."
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