Legal experts say the previous guilty pleas of confessed murderer and kidnapper Joseph Duncan will likely not be voided if he’s found mentally incompetent to represent himself in his sentencing hearing.

University of Missouri law professor Rodney Uphoff, an expert on death penalty cases and former Idaho Attorney General David Leroy say a person can fluctuate between competent and incompetent over time.

Duncan, a convicted pedophile, pleaded guilty in December to 10 federal charges in the May 2005 kidnapping of then 8-year old Shasta and 9-year old Dylan Groene from their Coeur d’Alene home and Dylan’s death. Three of the crimes can carry the death penalty.

The federal sentencing of Duncan has been delayed as presiding Judge Edward Lodge has ordered additional mental evaluations before the jury selection portion of the proceeding can resume. Potential jurors are to report back with the court in late June.
(AP)