Judge finds Colorado Planned Parenthood shooter incompetent to stand trial


A judge ruled Wednesday that Robert Dear, the man who admitted to killing three people at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic in November, is incompetent to stand trial.
Dear, 57, will be sent to a state psychiatric hospital, and his mental health will be reviewed in August; the case is on hold until he is deemed mentally competent to stand trial and he understands the court proceedings and can assist with his defense, The Associated Press reports. He is charged with 179 counts, including murder and attempted murder, in relation to the shooting at the Colorado Springs clinic.
Dear has had several outbursts in court, previously announcing his guilt and yelling that he is a "warrior for the babies." On Wednesday, he yelled as he was led out of the courtroom, "That's called prejudiced, filthy animal!" Two psychiatrists who interviewed Dear testified that he suffers from a delusion disorder, doesn't trust most people, and believes he is being persecuted by the FBI.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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