Jury selection began on Tuesday in the death penalty trial for suspected Colorado movie theater shooter James Holmes.

Lawyers in the high profile case are tasked with selecting 12 jurors who will determine the fate of the alleged shooter from an unprecedented 9,000-member jury pool, the largest in U.S. history, reports Fox News.

Holmes is accused of fatally killing 12 movie goers at an Aurora theater showing the "Dark Knight" movie on July 20, 2012. The jury will determine if he was sane or insane during the shooting. They will also decide whether to sentence him to death or life in prison if he is found guilty.

According to the Associated Press, Holmes appeared in court on Tuesday sporting a clean-cut look with a blue blazer, striped shirt and khaki slacks.

Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. addressed the first group of 250 jurors, who then spent two to three hours filling out a written questionnaire.

Last month, the parents of Holmes released a statement asking for his life to be spared from execution on the grounds that he suffers from mental illness.

"He is a human being gripped by a severe mental illness," reads the letter, according to AP. "We have always loved him, and we do not want him to be executed."

His parents, who live in California, added they rather avoid a traumatic trial and strike a deal that calls for a guilty plea in exchange for a sentence of life in prison without parole.

"If that happened, our son would be in prison the rest of his life, but no one would have to relive those horrible events at a trial the media has permission to televise," the parents wrote.

They also said that the best option would be sending their son to a mental institution if he is found not guilty by reason of insanity.

However, victims of the mass shooting disagree with Holmes' parents.

"He's not mentally ill," Melisa Cowden, whose ex-husband Gordon Cowden was killed in the shooting, said in December according to AP.

Cowden also called the statement comical and expressed her outrage that Holmes' parents have not apologized for the incident.

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