USA - Idaho. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has thrown out the death penalty of Joseph Edward Duncan, 48, white

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has thrown out the death penalty of Joseph Edward Duncan III, saying he should have been given a competency hearing before he was allowed to waive his appeal. The appellate court ordered U.S. District Court Judge Edward Lodge to hold a retrospective competency hearing for Duncan. Duncan was sentenced to die in 2008 for kidnapping, torturing and murdering a 9-year-old boy in 2005. Prosecutors said Duncan snatched Dylan Groene and his 8-year-old sister from their home in Coeur d'Alene after killing their older brother, mother and mother's fiance. Duncan kept the children at a remote Montana campsite for weeks before killing Dylan and returning with Dylan's sister to Coeur d'Alene, where he was arrested.