Utah Supreme Court Blocks Execution of Death Row Prisoner with Dementia
The Utah Supreme Court has halted the planned execution of Ralph Leroy Menzies, a 67-year-old death row inmate who was scheduled to die by firing squad on September 5. Menzies was convicted of abducting and killing 23-year-old mother of three Maurine Hunsaker in 1986, a crime that shocked the state nearly four decades ago.
The ruling came after Menzies’ attorneys argued that his severe dementia renders him unfit for execution. They say he now relies on a wheelchair, needs supplemental oxygen, and can no longer comprehend why he is facing capital punishment.
“When given a choice decades ago, Menzies selected a firing squad,” the court noted. If carried out, his execution would have been only the sixth in the United States by firing squad since 1977.
Court Ruling
In its order, the Utah Supreme Court said Menzies had presented “a substantial change of circumstances” and raised significant concerns about his competency. The justices directed a lower court to reevaluate his mental state before any execution can proceed.
“We acknowledge that this uncertainty has caused the family of Maurine Hunsaker immense suffering, and it is not our desire to prolong that suffering. But we are bound by the rule of law,” the court wrote.
Hunsaker’s family expressed disappointment in a public statement, saying they were “very distraught” at the decision and asked for privacy.
Defense and Prosecution Dispute
Defense attorney Lindsey Layer said Menzies’ condition has worsened since his last competency evaluation more than a year ago. “We look forward to presenting our case in the trial court,” she said.
Medical experts disagree on the extent of his impairment. Experts for the prosecution maintain that Menzies still understands his situation, while defense experts argue that his dementia prevents him from comprehending the punishment he faces.
Precedent in US Law
This is not the first case of a death row inmate developing dementia while awaiting execution. In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the execution of Vernon Madison in Alabama, ruling that executing someone who cannot grasp why they are being put to death violates constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. Madison, who killed a police officer in 1985, later died in prison.
Earlier rulings from the Supreme Court have similarly barred executions of individuals with severe mental illness, finding that such cases fail to serve the retributive purpose of the death penalty.
Background of the Crime
Menzies abducted Hunsaker on February 23, 1986, after she left a convenience store. She was able to call her husband, telling him she had been robbed and kidnapped but would be released. Instead, her body was discovered two days later in Big Cottonwood Canyon, about 16 miles from where she was taken. She had been strangled and her throat slashed.
Menzies was convicted and sentenced to death later that year. He has spent nearly 40 years on death row.
Firing Squad History
Utah is the only U.S. state that has used a firing squad in recent decades, most recently in 2010 with the execution of Ronnie Lee Gardner. The state carried out its last execution in 2023 by lethal injection.
Although some states have recently reinstated firing squads as a backup execution method, they remain rare. Earlier this year, South Carolina executed two prisoners by firing squad.
For now, Menzies’ case has been sent back to a lower court, where judges will determine whether his deteriorating mental state disqualifies him from facing the death penalty.
