Utah judge rules a convicted killer with dementia is competent to be executed

SALT LAKE CITY — A convicted killer in Utah who developed dementia while on death row for 37 years is competent enough to be executed, a state judge ruled late Friday

SALT LAKE CITY — A convicted killer in Utah who developed dementia while on death row for 37 years is competent enough to be executed, a state judge ruled late Friday.

Ralph Leroy Menzies, 67, was sentenced to die in 1988 for killing Utah mother of three Maurine Hunsaker. Despite his recent cognitive decline, Menzies “consistently and rationally understands” what is happening and why he is facing execution, Judge Matthew Bates wrote in a court order.

“Menzies has not shown by a preponderance of the evidence that his understanding of his specific crime and punishment has fluctuated or declined in a way that offends the Eighth Amendment,” which prohibits cruel and unusual punishments, Bates said.

Menzies had previously selected a firing squad as his method of execution. He would become only the sixth U.S. prisoner executed by firing squad since 1977.

The Utah Attorney General’s Office is expected to file a death warrant soon.