Even if he’s deemed competent, more appeals could delay Ralph Menzies’ execution

Ralph Leroy Menzies appears for a competency hearing in 3rd District Court in West Jordan on Monday, Nov 18, 2024. (Pool photo by Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune)

It will be months, possibly a year or even more before the fate of Utah death row inmate Ralph Menzies is settled. 

The question of whether Menzies, a 66-year-old convicted murderer diagnosed with dementia, is competent enough to face a firing squad still stands between him and the execution chamber. But regardless of how the judge rules, more appeals will likely delay his execution. 

Monday marked the sixth day of Menzies’ competency hearing, where 3rd District Court Judge Matthew Bates has heard from medical experts who evaluated the inmate to determine whether he understands why he is being executed — experts commissioned by the state say he does, while the experts commissioned by his attorneys say he does not. 

Now, the hearing will resume on April 18, tacking on nearly five additional months to the decadeslong saga that started in 1986 when Menzies kidnapped and murdered Maurine Hunsaker, a 26-year-old gas station clerk. 

Matt Hunsaker, Maurine’s son, thinks that window will ultimately delay the process for another year, maybe more. 

“His next move in this game of chess is to file an appeal,” said Hunsaker after Monday’s hearing. “That will likely delay an execution going forward. Conservatively speaking, we’re looking at a year of this back-and-forth.”

Hunsaker believes that timeline gives Menzies’ attorneys time to prove that his competency has worsened. “Then we’re right back to where we are today,” he said. 

It’s unclear when Bates will rule on Menzies’ competency — it could be several days, or more, after the April hearing. But regardless of what Bates decides, it will open the door for more appeals from either the state or Menzies’ attorneys, which means it’s unlikely the death row inmate of 36 years will sit before a firing squad anytime soon. 

In recent years, Menzies’ health has deteriorated, his attorneys say. After falling several times in prison, he was diagnosed with vascular dementia, where the brain’s blood flow is disrupted, leading to memory loss and declining cognitive function. An MRI exam showed Menzies’ brain tissue is deteriorating, and his balance is fraught, causing him to fall several times each month. 

Menzies is so impaired by his dementia, his attorneys argued, that he does not have a “rational understanding” of why he is facing execution, meaning he can’t make the link between his crime and the punishment. Per Utah code, and U.S. Supreme Court case law, that means he should be deemed too incompetent to face an execution, his lawyers say. 

During the competency hearing, six medical experts who evaluated Menzies testified to his mental state. They all agree that Menzies is mentally impaired in some way — but the experts for the state say he still understands why he’s being executed. 

Now, the court is in the process of finalizing transcripts from the six days of testimony. Once that’s complete, Menzies’ attorneys will have 45 days to compile a brief, which sums up their argument and contextualizes the evidence presented during the hearing. The Utah Attorney General’s Office will then have 45 days to respond to their brief; then Menzies’ attorneys will have an additional 30 days to reply to the state. 

On April 18, attorneys for Menzies and the state will once again meet in Utah for oral arguments. Bates will presumably have questions for them, stemming from their briefs. 

Matt Hunsaker, who came to Monday prepared to address the court, will instead speak during the April hearing. 

“There’s a lot of things that we need to highlight,” Hunsaker said. “He would carry a little more weight if he came in and acknowledged, ‘yeah, I did do this. I was wrong.’ But he never will. So what’s the solution?”

Hunsaker said he’ll try to bring the focus back on his mother, whose name was rarely mentioned during the hearing. 

“Two times you heard my mom’s name in this hearing. Twice. You’ll hear it probably 20 times when I’m talking to the judge,” he said.