- Ralph Menzies' attorneys report his mental and physical health has declined significantly in the last few months
- They asked 3rd District Judge Matthew Bates, who ruled he was competent one month ago, to reassess his competency before execution proceedings move forward.
- Menzies, convicted of a 1986 murder, is scheduled for a hearing on an execution warrant on Wednesday.
SALT LAKE CITY — Attorneys for death row inmate Ralph Menzies have filed another petition asking the court to evaluate their client's competency, saying his health has again deteriorated and he should not be executed.
The attorneys say two reports from experts in late June show Menzies' mental and physical condition has "significantly deteriorated" over the last two months. They issued a statement Monday announcing they have filed a new petition asking 3rd District Judge Matthew Bates to again evaluate whether Menzies is competent enough to move forward with execution proceedings.
"During his last court appearance, he (Menzies) was brought in tethered to an oxygen tank and seated in a wheelchair. Witnesses described him as frail, disoriented and physically declining. He suffers frequent falls, is unable to care for himself and often forgets why he is in court at all," the statement reads.
In June, Bates ruled that Menzies is competent enough to be executed, despite a vascular dementia diagnosis, after proceedings were placed on hold for 16 months for multiple evaluations and hearings.
The new request to put the proceedings on hold comes less than a month after that decision and days before Bates is scheduled to consider an execution warrant. That hearing is still scheduled for Wednesday, although it is unknown if this request, or an earlier request from his attorneys to appeal the previous competency decision, will cause further delays.
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.
When Bates scheduled Wednesday's hearing, he said it was to discuss arguments regarding prosecutors' 2024 request for an execution warrant. An execution warrant must set the method of execution and a date of execution, which is between 30 days and 60 days from the date the warrant is issued.
Prosecutors filed an opposition to the motion to put the case on hold while the previous competency ruling was appealed, but they have not yet responded to Monday's petition for another competency dispute.
This story may be updated.
