HALIFAX - The Crown and defence say the upcoming trial of a Halifax man accused of murdering two men in 2007 will focus on his mental state at the time.

Glen Race's lawyer told a provincial court hearing Tuesday that his 31-year-old client has agreed to proceed directly to trial in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia without a preliminary hearing.

Race was extradited from the United States about 18 months ago to face first-degree murder charges in the deaths of 44-year-old Michael Knott and 45-year-old Trevor Brewster. He has not entered pleas on the charges.

Knott's body was found in a wooded path in southwestern Nova Scotia on May 5, 2007, while Brewster's body was discovered four days later under a boardwalk at a lake in Halifax.

Race's parents have said he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and they believe he was suffering from psychotic episodes at the time.

Crown attorney Mark Heerema says prosecutors believe there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial, where the key issue will be Race's mental health.

"We expect the mental health status of Mr. Race will be the front-and-centre issue in this trial and we're preparing accordingly," Heerema said in an interview outside of court.

Defence lawyer Joel Pink also said forensic psychiatric assessments of Race will be central in the case.

"I expect down the road the courts will have to decide whether he was criminally responsible for the acts he was alleged to have committed," he said outside court.

Race nodded and said "all right" when the judge informed him his next court appearance would be on April 5.

Race appears to have gained weight since his extradition, which Pink attributed to the medical treatment he has received since coming back to Canada.

"His paranoid schizophrenia is being controlled by medication and as long as he's on his medication he's able to communicate. It's when he's off his medication that we have problems," he said.

Before his extradition, Race was serving a life sentence in the United States for the murder of Darcy Manor in Mooers, N.Y., on May 10, 2007.

An extradition agreement with the U.S. requires that Race be returned to New York state to serve the remainder of his sentence, whatever the result of the Canadian legal process.