DENVER – A hearing to determine whether a man charged with killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket will stand trial will be delayed after his lawyers said they believe he has a “mental disability” that prevents him from being able to understand proceedings or help them defend him.
In an order Thursday, Judge Ingrid Bakke agreed to postpone Tuesday’s planned preliminary hearing to review the evidence against Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, as requested by his lawyers. Instead, she said she would use the scheduled hearing time to advise Alissa of his rights during the process to determine if he is mentally competent and order an evaluation for him.
A defendant’s ability to understand and assist in their defense is a separate legal issue than a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, which hinges on whether someone’s mental health prevented them from knowing right from wrong when a crime was committed.
Prosecutors, upset that the defense first raised the issue of competency less than a week before the hearing, had asked that the preliminary hearing move ahead as planned because shooting victims and their families had already made plans to attend it, with some traveling from around the state and the country.
