ALBEMARLE - Death row inmate Guy LeGrande unwittingly did Friday what he had been refusing to do for months: He allowed three mental health professionals to observe him answering questions to help them evaluate his mental competency.

LeGrande's execution, which had been scheduled for Dec. 1, was delayed because a judge wanted three psychiatrists to determine whether LeGrande is too mentally ill to be executed.

But LeGrande, 48, has refused to meet with the doctors, limiting their access to reading documents in the case and watching 30 days' worth of video -- without audio -- showing LeGrande's daily activities in his cell at Central Prison to make their evaluation.

On Friday, the judge in the case casually asked LeGrande to answer questions, and LeGrande agreed. Later, the judge asked questions, some of which were prepared by lawyers from both sides.

Present at the Stanly County hearing were defense lawyers LeGrande refuses to acknowledge represent him, the state's attorneys and the three doctors, who were required to be present.

Several lawyers whom LeGrande refused to let represent him over the years testified about their interactions with him. Then, before the lunch recess, Superior Court Judge Robert Bell made the request of LeGrande.

It is unclear whether the two-hour question-and-answer session will change these doctors' minds about LeGrande's competency. Previously, they had been split 2-to-1 in favor of LeGrande being too mentally ill to understand he could be executed. Their testimony will be heard at another hearing within a month.

LeGrande was sentenced to death for the 1993 shooting of Ellen Munford, whose estranged husband recruited LeGrande to commit murder. Tommy Munford, who is serving life for second-degree murder, offered to pay LeGrande $6,500 from the $50,000 in life insurance proceeds he expected to get.

In July 1993, LeGrande shot Ellen Munford twice in the back.

At trial, LeGrande acted as his own attorney, wearing a Superman T-shirt and goading the jury to sentence him to death. He has insisted on handling his own appeals, though judges have assigned appellate lawyers anyway.

LeGrande's case is percolating through the court system as lawmakers have introduced a bill that would ban executions for the severely mentally ill. Experts think outlawing executions for mentally ill inmates is the next battleground in the national death penalty debate. In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty for juveniles and the mentally retarded.

Friday's hearing was an unusual opportunity to hear from a convicted killer whose mental abilities are being questioned.

One of the lawyers who represents LeGrande, Jay Ferguson of Durham, has said that LeGrande does not believe he will be executed. He has insisted in letters that he will be pardoned, win a billion-dollar settlement and enjoy a "first meal" with the governor.

Prosecutors, however, say LeGrande is an intelligent murderer who took steps to plan the killing and avoid capture.

LeGrande's statements in court Friday were articulate, though rambling. He quoted Alfred Einstein and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He used words such as "jurisprudence" and "obsequious." He cited state and federal statutes by number.

One of his former attorneys, William Osteen of Greensboro, testified Friday about how LeGrande communicated during their only meeting in 2003. "It was easy to understand the words Mr. LeGrande was saying," he said. "But trying to take what he was telling us and put it in a coherent, logical sense was difficult."

Bell, the judge, repeatedly asked LeGrande if he thought he would be pardoned. LeGrande responded that only the governor can answer that question.

LeGrande also told the judge that there is a method to what may appear to be madness in his letters. He said he makes outrageous statements to get people's attention, like Don Imus.

LeGrande says he doesn't trust lawyers because his blue-collar family paid $15,000 for his trial lawyers, who he contends were useless. He told the judge that he is fine if his self-representation results in his execution.

"If I'm executed, I have nobody to blame," LeGrande said. "I presented the facts. I didn't fail. The law failed."

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