Prosecutors say dragging-death trial will go forward

CASTLE ROCK – Prosecutors say they are going forward with their plan to seek the death penalty in a 2006 Douglas County murder case where a man is accused of dragging his girlfriend to death.

Jose Rubi-Nava, 37, is accused of tying a tow rope around 49-year-old Luz Maria Franco Fierros' neck in September 2006 and dragging her for one-and-a-half miles behind his car near Castle Rock.

A judge had been considering evidence and testimony on Rubi-Nava's mental competency.

The defense had argued he was mentally retarded and therefore, could not face the death penalty if convicted. A 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling says states cannot execute criminals if they are mentally retarded.

Although the judge's decision is being withheld from the public, the Douglas County District Attorney's office says it can now proceed with its plans.

"If there's a trial date set that means he has been found competent to proceed, otherwise he would've been sent to the state hospital to await competency," said 9NEWS legal analyst Scott Robinson.

Rubi-Nava is charged with first-degree murder. If he is convicted, and does not get the death penalty, he automatically faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.