A Utah judge has set an execution date for a man with dementia who has been on death row for 37 years, despite appeals from his legal team.
Ralph Leroy Menzies, is set to be executed by firing squad on September 5 for abducting and killing a mother of three in 1986.
The 67-year-old's lawyers have filed multiple appeals, arguing his condition is worsening and he cannot understand his case.
In the US, both state and federal law require that death row inmates have an understanding of why they are being executed.
Despite this, a judge has ruled Menzies "consistently and rationally" understands why he is facing execution even with his recent cognitive decline.
While the date is set, it could be further delayed when later this month Judge Matthew Bates will decide whether the prisoner should undergo another mental evaluation.
The case highlights the use of and the rules and regulations surrounding capital punishment in the US which is still legal in more than 20 states as well as federally.
Here's what to know about this case.
What did Ralph Menzies do?
In 1986, 26-year-old Maurine Hunsaker, was abducted by Menzies from a convenience store where she worked in the Salt Lake City suburb of Kearns.
She was later found strangled and her throat cut about 25 kilometres away at a picnic area in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
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 in 1988.
When given a choice decades ago, Menzies selected a firing squad as his method of execution.
He would become only the sixth US prisoner executed by firing squad since 1977.
But after more than four decades, lawyers for Menzies filed multiple appeals that delayed his death sentence, which had been scheduled at least twice before it was pushed back.
US capital punishment laws
In the US, capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is legal for certain crimes in 27 states.
Across the US, there are 10 scheduled executions for the rest of 2025 in Florida, Tennessee, Utah, Texas, Indiana, Montana and Alaska.
Twenty-five men have been put to death in the US this year.
There are several methods of capital punishment in the US and they can vary by state.
It is primarily used for those convicted of first-degree murder.
Menzies and other Utah death row inmates sentenced before May 2004 were given a choice between firing squad and lethal injection.
For inmates sentenced in the state after that date, lethal injection is the default method unless the drugs are unavailable.
In the US, the death penalty is far more common in state cases than federal.
Former president Joe Biden placed a moratorium on federal executions for all cases except terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder during his term.
"I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level," he said late in his presidency.
When Donald Trump took office again, he made "restoring the death penalty" an early priority.
In January, he signed an executive order to "counteract the politicians and judges who subvert the law by obstructing and preventing the execution of capital sentences".
What are lawyers arguing?
Lawyers for Menzies say his dementia has gotten so severe that he uses a wheelchair, is dependent on oxygen and cannot understand his legal case.
They have petitioned the court for a reassessment, but Judge Bates said that the pending appeal was not a basis to stop him from setting a date.
He did schedule a July 23 hearing to evaluate a competency petition.
"We remain hopeful that the courts or the clemency board will recognise the profound inhumanity of executing a man who is experiencing steep cognitive decline and significant memory loss," said Lindsey Layer, a lawyer for Menzies.
"Taking the life of someone with a terminal illness who is no longer a threat to anyone and whose mind and identity have been overtaken by dementia serves neither justice nor human decency."
The Utah Attorney General's Office has "full confidence" in Judge Bates's decision, Assistant Attorney General Daniel Boyer said.
Could dementia spare Menzies from execution?
The US Supreme Court has spared prisoners with dementia from execution before.
In 2019, Vernon Madison, an Alabama man who had killed a police officer, had his execution stayed by the government and died in prison at the age of 69.
If a defendant cannot understand why they are being put to death, the high court said, then an execution is not carrying out the retribution that society is seeking.
For Hunsaker's son Matt, who was 10 years old when his mother was killed, it has been "hard to swallow that it's taken this long" to get justice.
"You issue the warrant today, you start a process for our family," he told the judge on Wednesday.
"It puts everybody on the clock. We've now introduced another generation of my mom, and we still don't have justice served."
ABC/Wires
