Key Hearing Set for Fort Hood Shooter

Posted by Chace Murphy Featured Stories, News Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) _ A military officer has ordered a mental evaluation for the Fort Hood shooting suspect before a key hearing next week.

Earlier this year Army officials appointed a three-member board of military mental health professionals to determine whether Maj. Nidal Hasan is competent to stand trial and his mental status the day of the Nov. 5 shooting.

Col. Morgan Lamb on Monday ordered the evaluation before next week’s Article 32 hearing, which will determine whether Hasan will stand trial on 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. Lamb had previously ruled that the exam would happen after the hearing.

It’s unclear if the exam’s findings will be presented at the hearing, which is similar to civilian grand jury proceedings.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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