Condemned serial killer Joseph E. Duncan is getting another day in court. Duncan, on death row for the torture and slaying of a North Idaho boy he abducted in 2005 after slaughtering much of the youngster’s family, will undergo a hearing to determine whether he was mentally competent when he decided to represent himself and waive his appeal rights.

BOISE – The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered convicted killer Joseph Duncan back into court in Idaho, saying a federal judge should have ordered a competency hearing before allowing Duncan to waive appeal of his death sentence. The appeals court ordered U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge to hold a “retrospective” competency hearing, exploring whether Duncan was competent in November 2008 when he told Lodge he didn’t want to appeal his triple death sentence for the kidnapping, torture and murder of a North Idaho boy. If he’s found competent after the hearing, the death sentence would go forward.

News about the investigation, trial and sentencing of Joseph Edward Duncan for the 2005 kidnap, torture and murder of 9-year-old Dylan Groene of Coeur d’Alene; the murders of Dylan’s mother, mother’s fiance and 13-year-old brother; and the kidnapping and molestation of Dylan’s then-8-year-old sister Shasta.

BOISE – Jurors who imposed the death penalty on Joseph Duncan are being offered help coping with the horrific things they saw and heard during the killer’s sentencing trial. The U.S. District Court in Boise confirmed Thursday that counseling is available to the jurors who viewed grisly evidence, including human remains, a wire noose and videos of Duncan torturing the boy he later killed, 9-year-old Dylan Groene.

BOISE – With heartfelt testimony from the father of murdered Dylan Groene, prosecutors wrapped up their case Tuesday in the federal death penalty sentencing trial for admitted killer Joseph Duncan. U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge set closing arguments for 9 a.m. today, Boise time, after which the case will go to the jury to decide whether Duncan should die for his crimes against the 9-year-old Coeur d’Alene boy and his sister, Shasta. Asked what he learned from his youngest son, Steve Groene said it was a lesson he unfortunately didn’t learn until after Dylan died: “Every minute with your children – you can’t take any of that time for granted, because you can wake up the next day, they may not be there.”

Editor’s note: This story contains explicit descriptions of severe abuse of a child. BOISE – On the screen, a child screamed in pain, and his tormentor raved.