BOISE, Idaho - A federal judge in Boise says convicted child-killer Joseph Edward Duncan III is mentally competent to face a death penalty hearing.

Duncan faces the death penalty on three of 10 federal charges related to the 2005 kidnapping of young Dylan and Shasta Groene of Coeur d'Alene and the slaying of Dylan. A hearing on whether Duncan should be allowed to represent himself during the sentencing hearing will be held on Monday.

AP

Joseph Edward Duncan III

Earlier this year, Duncan had asked U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge to allow him to represent himself, saying his attorneys could not "ethically represent my ideologies."