The Death Tract Ralph Menzies appeared in 1986 in court for the hearing of competence in Utah Mord

Salt Lake City (Kutv) – A death wing in Utah, convicted of a murder of 1986, appeared in court on Wednesday afternoon. The oral arguments that sounded about his competence could determine whether the execution of Ralph Leroy Menzies progresses after several delays of almost four decades.

The judge said he would give a written decision in the next 60 days about the intellectual competence of Menzies.

Menzies, who were condemned in the kidnapping and murder of 26-year-old Maurine Hunsaker, has been in the death cell since 1988. Prosecutors claim to understand Menzies clearly understands the ratings. Referring to recorded talks in prison and the view that Menzies knows the legal effects of dementia diagnosis and even planned to skip medication in order to be less competent to show that he is aware of and tries to influence the result.

At his hearing in March 1988, Menzies said that he wanted to be executed by shooting the squad. Menzies is to be carried out three different times. Every time the convict fails to avoid further appeals.

Timetry of a decades of case:

• February 23, 1986: Maurine Hunsaker disappears
• February 25, 1986: Hunsaker's body found in Big Cottonwood Canyon
• June 11, 1986: Menzies charged with severe murder
• March 8, 1988: Jury returns a guilty judgment
• March 23, 1988: Menzies sentenced to death and chosen firing squad. First execution order granted, however, the execution for May 20, 1988, but the execution was suspended up to the automatic complaints.
• April 5, 1995: execution order issued; Executional date for June 2, 1995
• May 3, 1995: Execution remained
• December 20, 2002: The state submitted an application to increase the execution stay and submitted an application for execution order
• September 11, 2003: Exhibition order issued, execution for November 10, 2003. The execution remained later this year.
• January 17, 2024: Application for execution of the arrest warrant of state files
• January 23, 2024: Submitted defense application to determine the competence

Latest developments

The state submitted its latest application for execution order on January 17, 2024. The defenders answered six days later with a petition to determine the competence of the menzies.

According to the law of Utah, the officials have to stop the execution plans up to the medical examination and to review the court times if questions arise about the competence of a thread of death.

The family's decades of waiting for the family

“It's a kind of gap in the whole family,” said Matt Hunsaker from 2News, who was 10 years old when his mother was killed. “It is difficult to see that it is the short 10 years that I had with her and how great and how much she made me a person I am.” Hunsaker's grandmother took part in every hearing until her death and was committed to justice for her daughter.

“She was firmly convinced that she wanted him to be executed for what he was doing,” said Matt Hunsaker. “It had to be done in her thoughts and in her soul.”

What's next

On Wednesday, a judge will hear oral arguments summarized by both legal teams and make a decision in the event of competence. The court planned for five days of listening to evidence for November 2024 with another day in December to determine whether Menzies is competent for execution.

If the court is competent, it must set an execution date within 30 to 60 days. If there is an incompetent reason, the execution remains exposed to further court decisions.

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