Ralph Menzies speaks with his attorney in a West Jordan courtroom on July 9, 2025, just after 3rd District Judge Matthew Bates signed a death warrant ordering that the inmate be executed by firing squad in September. (Pool photo by Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune)
It’s been more than a month since attorneys for Ralph Menzies asked a Utah court to conduct another evaluation into whether the 67-year-old death row inmate with dementia is mentally fit enough to be executed.
Now, with his firing squad execution less than four weeks away, his attorneys have asked a judge to speed up his ruling, worried that any further delay could impact Menzies’ due process. On Monday, they filed a motion requesting Utah 3rd District Court Judge Matthew Bates expedite his decision.
Menzies is appealing a prior court decision with the Utah Supreme Court, and the judge’s delay, his attorneys write, “could effectively deny Mr. Menzies his due process right.”
Menzies has been on death row since 1988, after being convicted of kidnapping and murdering Maurine Hunsaker, a 26-year-old gas station clerk who he took up Big Cottonwood Canyon. She was later found tied to a tree with her throat slashed.
Menzies’ dementia — and whether his condition deems him ineligible for execution — has been the subject of debate over the last year. Both state and federal law require that death row inmates have an understanding of why they’re being executed.
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After hearing from several medical professionals who examined Menzies, Bates ruled in May that the inmate does have dementia, but still understands the state’s reasoning for executing him. That ruling allowed the Utah Attorney General’s Office to apply for an execution warrant which Bates signed, setting a Sept. 5 date for Menzies’ death by firing squad.
Menzies’ attorneys promptly appealed the decision with the Utah Supreme Court and a hearing is set for Aug. 21.
However, the evaluations Bates based his ruling off of happened about a year ago, and in that time, Menzies’ attorneys say his dementia has progressed. They believe that he now meets the level to be considered incompetent.
In a petition filed on July 7, they asked Bates to grant Menzies another evaluation from a Utah Department of Health and Human Services doctor. If granted, that would kick off a 60-day process where the doctor examines the inmate and compiles a report for the court — depending on the report’s findings, Menzies could be found incompetent, and spared from execution.
They also asked the court to pause execution proceedings to give the appeal time to play out, which Bates denied.
On July 23, after hearing arguments for and against granting another competency evaluation, Bates said he would grant a ruling “as quickly as possible.” That was 20 days ago, as of Tuesday, and the petition itself was filed 37 days ago.
“Mr. Menzies’s petition was pending when the Court issued a warrant of execution set for 58 days from its issuance. More than half of that time has now elapsed without a ruling,” court documents read. “This delay underscores precisely why a stay was necessary pending resolution of the petition.”
If Bates intends to deny Menzies another competency evaluation, his attorneys are asking for a ruling to be issued immediately so they can file an appeal.
His attorneys also say any further delay could complicate their appeal with the Utah Supreme Court, and his upcoming commutation hearing with the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole, scheduled to begin Wednesday.
“Because that oral argument is scheduled for ten days from today, if this Court denies the Petition to Reevaluate Competency, there will likely be insufficient time for briefing and argument before the Supreme Court on that date. Such a delay could effectively deny Mr. Menzies his due process right to adequate review,” the motion, filed on Monday, reads.
