Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- A judge will decide if Ralph Menzies is competent for execution, following attorney arguments on Wednesday.
- Experts disagree on Menzies' competence; attorneys debated legal standards and evidence.
- The son of the woman Menzies killed spoke about her and said he will accepts the decision.
WEST JORDAN — The son of a woman killed by Ralph Menzies told the judge he would accept his decision on whether Menzies remains competent to be executed. He just asked for the decision to be sent to the family before it is made public.
Matt Hunsaker said throughout the hearing on Wednesday, as attorneys debated whether the Utah death row inmate is competent, his mother — Maurine Hunsaker — was mentioned once by her last name. He said he wanted her to be remembered as a mom and a grandma — he said he will be getting a granddaughter this year, and it is hard that his mom will not experience that.
"This man took my mom from a gas station where she was trying to work to support her family. … He tied her to a tree; he slit her throat. This was a brutal murder of a person whose life was shortened. We miss her. We love her," he said.
Hunsaker said the case has had a legacy of hearings, and hundreds of hours and piles of paperwork are dedicated to the question of whether Menzies is competent. He said the decision now left to the judge is of huge weight.
Third District Judge Matthew Bates asked questions to the attorneys and was engaged during the hearing. He did not give an estimate for when he may make a decision, but he asked attorneys to send him the remaining things he needs to review soon.
Assistant attorney general Daniel Boyer said that of the seven experts hired to evaluate Menzies, only the three he hired found him not competent enough to be executed. He argued they used an "inflated and incorrect" legal standard to reach that conclusion.
"He clearly understands that he will be executed as punishment for the murder he was found to have committed, and that is all the Eighth Amendment requires," the attorney said.
Menzies' attorney, Lindsey Layer, said a knowledge of what he is convicted of, that he will be executed, and the method of execution is not enough understanding based on decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court. She cited problems Menzies has renewing medications and running laundry machines a the prison — things he used to be able to do.
She said the list of questions used by two evaluators gave cues that would help Menzies know how to answer, and that the statements don't show he has a rational understanding.
Wednesday's oral argument hearing followed a multi-day testimony hearing in December, during which doctors discussed their evaluations and findings.
Menzies, 67, was found guilty of murdering Maurine Hunsaker, a 26-year-old mother of three who worked at a gas station in Kearns, in 1986. She called to tell her husband she had been abducted, and her body was found in Big Cottonwood Canyon two days later.
Prosecutors filed a motion to start the execution process in early 2024, but Menzies' attorneys asked for the process to be put on hold for an evaluation into whether he is still competent to be executed. His attorneys claim Menzies has dementia and no longer understands why the state wants to execute him.
