Utah judge rules a convicted killer with dementia is competent to be executed

News

Utah judge rules a convicted killer with dementia is competent to be executed

2025-06-07 09:46 Last Updated At：09:50

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A convicted killer in Utah who developed dementia while on death row for 37 years is competent enough to be executed, a state judge ruled late Friday.

Ralph Leroy Menzies, 67, was sentenced to die in 1988 for killing Utah mother of three Maurine Hunsaker. Despite his recent cognitive decline, Menzies “consistently and rationally understands" what is happening and why he is facing execution, Judge Matthew Bates wrote in a court order.

“Menzies has not shown by a preponderance of the evidence that his understanding of his specific crime and punishment has fluctuated or declined in a way that offends the Eighth Amendment,” which prohibits cruel and unusual punishments, Bates said.

Menzies had previously selected a firing squad as his method of execution. He would become only the sixth U.S. prisoner executed by firing squad since 1977.

The Utah Attorney General’s Office is expected to file a death warrant soon.

Menzies’ lawyers, who had argued his dementia was so severe that he could not understand why he was being put to death, said they plan to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.

“Ralph Menzies is a severely brain-damaged, wheelchair-bound, 67-year-old man with dementia and significant memory problems,” his attorney, Lindsey Layer, said in a statement. “It is deeply troubling that Utah plans to remove Mr. Menzies from his wheelchair and oxygen tank to strap him into an execution chair and shoot him to death.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has spared others prisoners with dementia from execution, including an Alabama man in 2019 who had killed a police officer.

Over nearly four decades, attorneys for Menzies filed multiple appeals that delayed his death sentence, which had been scheduled at least twice before it was pushed back.

Hunsaker, a 26-year-old married mother of three, was abducted by Menzies from the convenience store where she worked. She was later found strangled and her throat cut at a picnic area in the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah. Menzies had Hunsaker’s wallet and several other belongings when he was jailed on unrelated matters. He was convicted of first-degree murder and other crimes.

Matt Hunsaker, who was 10 years old when his mother was killed, said Friday that the family was overwhelmed with emotion to know that justice would finally be served.

Slot says 'no issue' with Salah after Egypt star recalled for Liverpool win

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool manager Arne Slot insisted there were no outstanding issues between him and Mohamed Salah after recalling the club great to the team for the 2-0 win over Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday.

Salah received a rapturous welcome from Liverpool fans after coming on as a first-half substitute and they chanted his name during and after the game at Anfield — including after he set up Hugo Ekitike for the second goal.

In an explosive outburst last weekend, Salah told reporters his relationship with Slot had broken down after being dropped for three straight games and that he felt like “someone doesn’t want me in the club.”

He was then left at home when Liverpool traveled to Inter Milan for a Champions League match on Tuesday, with Slot saying he did not know if Salah would play again for the club.

However, a few days later, Salah was back in the squad for the Brighton game after he held conversations with Slot on Friday.

“For me there is no issue to resolve. He is now the same as any other player,” Slot said after the game. “I usually never say anything about what we talk about, I am not going to make an exception now. But I think actions speak louder than what has been said and he was in the squad again.

“When I had to make my first substitution, I brought him in and he performed as every fan including me would like him to today. The moment he is there I like to use him when we need him. When he came in, he had the performance like you would want him to to give.”

After the final whistle, Salah applauded all four sides of Anfield — like some of his other teammates. Salah lingered in front of The Kop stand as fans chanted his name and patted the club crest on his jersey before leaving the pitch and heading to the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt.

Slot did not think that was a farewell gesture by Salah.

“He wasn’t the only player who walked around the pitch, thanking the fans because the fans deserved a thank you from us," Slot said. “Mo is going to go to AFCON. I hope he is going to do very well. And in the meantime, we have to play here without him, without many players."

Salah was an unused substitute for the 3-3 draw with Leeds last Saturday, after which he opened up on his frustrations. Before that, he'd been an unused sub in a win at West Ham and came on at halftime of a home draw against Sunderland.

Salah is Liverpool's biggest star and also the club’s record scorer in the Premier League. He has four league goals in 14 appearances this season.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer