KEY TAKEAWAYS
The ruling means that the state can move forward with its plans to execute Ralph Leroy Menzies, 67, who has sat on death row for decades.
"Although Menzies has shown he has vascular dementia, he has not shown by a preponderance of the evidence that his mental condition prevents him from reaching a rational understanding of his punishment or the state's reasons for it. Therefore, he has not met his burden to show he is incompetent to be executed," 3rd District Judge Matthew Bates wrote in a 22-page document.
Menzies was found guilty of murdering 26-year-old Maurine Hunsaker, whose body was found in Big Cottonwood Canyon in 1986, two days after she called her husband to tell him that she had been abducted. Hunsaker was a mother of three who worked in Kearns.
Utah filed an execution warrant last year after Menzies exhausted all his appeals following his 1988 conviction, but that was delayed as his attorneys claimed that Menzies was suffering from dementia. That led to several hearings that wrapped up in May of this year.
While both parties agreed that Menzies is suffering from vascular dementia, the two sides disagreed on whether that prevents him from "rational understanding of the reasons for his execution," Bates noted. Seven medical professionals were brought in to evaluate Menzies, and they were split on whether he was competent.
However, multiple doctors wrote that Menzies told them that he was aware of why he was in prison, even if he struggled to remember simple tasks, Bates wrote. He added that Menzies "joked with his family and told stories with, for the most part, the same speed, articulation and coherence as in his prior set of phone calls" before his dementia diagnosis, although he also told family he was also "mentally gone" and "going crazy."
After reviewing legal precedent, Bates ruled that Menzies' attorneys did not provide "evidence that his mental disorder prevents him from reaching a rational understanding of the reason for his execution" and that his "cognitive decline does not prevent him from reaching a rational understanding of his crime and punishment."
"Menzies consistently showed that he understands the link between his crime and his punishment. He understands that he is going to be executed for the kidnapping, robbery and murder of Maurine Hunsaker," Brooks wrote. "He understands the severity of his crime and the meaning and purpose for his execution."
He added that the court will contact both parties to schedule "further proceedings."
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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- A 3rd District judge rules Ralph Menzies competent for execution despite a dementia diagnosis.
- Menzies was convicted of a 1988 murder; legal battles have delayed his execution.
- The judge cites Menzies' understanding of crime and punishment as part of reason for decision.
The ruling means that the state can move forward with its plans to execute Ralph Leroy Menzies, 67, who has sat on death row for decades.
"Although Menzies has shown he has vascular dementia, he has not shown by a preponderance of the evidence that his mental condition prevents him from reaching a rational understanding of his punishment or the state's reasons for it. Therefore, he has not met his burden to show he is incompetent to be executed," 3rd District Judge Matthew Bates wrote in a 22-page document.
Menzies was found guilty of murdering 26-year-old Maurine Hunsaker, whose body was found in Big Cottonwood Canyon in 1986, two days after she called her husband to tell him that she had been abducted. Hunsaker was a mother of three who worked in Kearns.
Utah filed an execution warrant last year after Menzies exhausted all his appeals following his 1988 conviction, but that was delayed as his attorneys claimed that Menzies was suffering from dementia. That led to several hearings that wrapped up in May of this year.
While both parties agreed that Menzies is suffering from vascular dementia, the two sides disagreed on whether that prevents him from "rational understanding of the reasons for his execution," Bates noted. Seven medical professionals were brought in to evaluate Menzies, and they were split on whether he was competent.
However, multiple doctors wrote that Menzies told them that he was aware of why he was in prison, even if he struggled to remember simple tasks, Bates wrote. He added that Menzies "joked with his family and told stories with, for the most part, the same speed, articulation and coherence as in his prior set of phone calls" before his dementia diagnosis, although he also told family he was also "mentally gone" and "going crazy."
After reviewing legal precedent, Bates ruled that Menzies' attorneys did not provide "evidence that his mental disorder prevents him from reaching a rational understanding of the reason for his execution" and that his "cognitive decline does not prevent him from reaching a rational understanding of his crime and punishment."
"Menzies consistently showed that he understands the link between his crime and his punishment. He understands that he is going to be executed for the kidnapping, robbery and murder of Maurine Hunsaker," Brooks wrote. "He understands the severity of his crime and the meaning and purpose for his execution."
He added that the court will contact both parties to schedule "further proceedings."
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
Archive Article
