BOISE -- Convicted child killer Joseph Duncan was back in Boise Tuesday for a competency hearing.
Duncan received a death sentence after he pleaded guilty to kidnapping and torturing a north Idaho brother and sister, and killing the brother.
The competency hearing is unrelated to the crimes Duncan committed, but whether the serial killer was competent to give up on fighting his death sentence.
No cameras are allowed inside federal courtroom.
The competency hearing was formatted similarly to a trial with opening statements and witnesses. A judge, not a jury, will decide whether Duncan really had the capacity to make his own legal decisions.
Prosecutors said Duncan has proven his competence by the way he represented himself in court -- and say multiple doctors will say the same.
At Tuesday's hearing, prosecutors called an FBI special agent who interviewed Duncan several times since he pleaded guilty. Some of the itnerviews, which focused on what motivated Duncan to commit the crimes were played during the hearing. Duncan told the agent he wanted to get revenge on the justice system and society.
Duncan's attorneys said their experts will later testify that Duncan suffers from a brain impairment, psychotic disorders and post traumatic stress disorder, all of which they say prevented him from understanding what he was doing in court.
The hearing is expected to last several weeks.
If the judge finds Duncan was not competent when he gave up appeals, there will be another hearing to decide if he was competent to represent himself during his sentencing.
It is possible Duncan could get a new sentencing hearing.
Duncan has been convicted of five different murders in Idaho, Montana and California. But this competency hearing focuses only on the crimes he committed against young Dylan Groene and his 8-year-old sister, Shasta, in 2005.
