It's been nearly three years since Joseph Edward Duncan III kidnapped two young siblings at their home after killing their parents and older brother. Shasta and Dylan Groene were whisked away to western Montana, where they were tortured, raped and Dylan was slain. Now the man pleaded guilty to the crimes has told a federal judge he wants to fire his lawyers and represent himself at his sentencing hearing, which may mean more delays.
It also raises the possibility that Duncan could cross-examine witnesses - perhaps including 11-year-old Shasta, the lone survivor of the May 2005 murder-kidnapping that wiped out her family.
There was no court discussion Friday of whether Shasta would be called to testify at the sentencing hearing, which was supposed to begin May 1. Jury selection began this week. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge was clearly troubled by the convicted killer's request. At a hearing Friday, Lodge questioned Duncan repeatedly to see if he fully understood what it would mean to serve as his own attorney.
"I don't have an issue with counsel personally," Duncan told Lodge. "It's ideological. I don't believe that they can ethically represent my ideologies."
Duncan didn't detail his ideology in court, but authorities have examined a blog that he kept for months before the Groene slayings.
In "The Fifth Nail," Duncan documented his internal struggle against right and wrong, railing against what he called the ostracizing of convicted sex offenders, and offering religious views.
"You definitely do have a 6th Amendment constitutional right to represent yourself," but there are concerns that have to be addressed, Lodge said. "I'm not aware your counsel has filed anything that shows there has been a mental evaluation."
The crime spree began in 2005 when Duncan, a convicted pedophile originally from Tacoma, Wash., first saw Shasta and Dylan playing outside their Coeur d'Alene home. He stalked the family before entering the house in mid-May 2005, killing 13-year-old Slade Groene, his mother Brenda Groene and her fiance Mark McKenzie. Duncan drove away with Shasta and Dylan, sexually abusing and torturing the children for weeks in the remote Montana wilderness before killing Dylan and leaving his body behind.
Duncan pleaded guilty in December to 10 federal charges, including three that bring possible death penalties.
Because Duncan faces the possibility of capital punishment and because preliminary mental evaluations imply the "possibility of some other mental issues," the judge said, a professional mental evaluation is needed.
It's not yet clear if that evaluation can be done quickly and locally, or if the court will follow the standard protocol and send Duncan to Seattle for a roughly 45-day evaluation by the Bureau of Prisons.
Duncan was taken aback when Lodge said the hearing could be delayed for a lengthy evaluation.
"That wasn't my intention when I initiated this," Duncan said. "The delay is unexpected and obviously I don't think anyone wants that."
Lodge told lawyers on both sides to submit briefs on the issue Monday.
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