A 22-year-old man who was charged with killing ten people at a supermarket in Colorado was found to be mentally incompetent to face prosecution.
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, who opened fire at a King Soopers in March, was ordered by a judge to receive treatment at a mental hospital to see if he can be made well enough to stand trial.
According to reports, four doctors have determined that he is not mentally competent as he has ‘deteriorated’ while staying behind bars, said District Attorney Michael Dougherty.
“I’m 100% confident that the day will come that he’s held fully responsible for what he did on March 22,” Dougherty said.
He requested that Judge Ingrid Bakke send the 22-year-old to a state mental hospital so that the treatment and medication will enable him to work with his lawyers and understand legal proceedings.
Alissa’s lawyer, Kathryn Herold, said that the accused has a ‘serious’ mental illness and agreed that she should receive treatment at the Colorado Mental Health Institute.
Alissa is not scheduled to appear in court again until March 15. If doctors believe he has become competent to stand trial, it is possible that he could be back in court before then, Dougherty said.
The 22-year-old faces ten counts of first-degree murder and over 20 counts of attempted murder.
Robert Olds, whose niece was killed in the shooting rampage, said Alissa seemed competent at his last court hearing. He said he was frustrated by the delay but he tries not to become very upset by the slow pace of the justice system.
“He’s incompetent to stand trial, but on the day he did all of this he was pretty dang competent in his actions and everything else,” Olds said.
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