SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A competency hearing is being held for Ralph Menzies, who has been on death row for nearly four decades after kidnapping and killing a woman.

Matt Hunsaker was just 10 years old when Menzies kidnapped and killed his mother, Maurine Hunsaker, in 1986.

Decades later, the pending execution of Menzies, 66, is still a painful reminder for the victim’s family.

Menzies, who has been on death row for 36 years, faces a competency hearing in mid-November amid claims he suffers from dementia. The hearing will determine whether he understands the reason for his execution.

This determination is crucial; if found incompetent, he cannot be sentenced to death under Utah law.

“It’s a very difficult road to walk because it’s never about what happened to mom, it’s always about him,” Hunsaker said.

The family has been waiting for justice for more than three decades, and Hunsaker explained that the prospect of Menzies’ execution “just serves as a sense of justice for my mother.”

If the execution goes ahead, it will be by firing squad, a method last used in Utah in 2010. However, the outcome depends on the upcoming competency hearing, during which Menzies’ defense team will argue that his mental health has deteriorated to the point where he can’t understand his sentence.

Criminal defense attorney Skye Lazaro, who has experience in jurisdictional cases but is not directly involved in Menzies’ case, outlined the legal process.

PREVIOUS REPORTING ON RALPH MENZIES COMPETENCE:

“The big question is, is he competent or not?” Lazaro said. “The next question is, can it be restored?”

If Menzies is found incompetent but can recover, he could enter a court-ordered treatment program aimed at restoring mental fitness. However, this could delay execution by years.

“The burden is on Menzies to prove he is mentally unfit to be executed,” Lazaro said, noting the defense is expected to present evaluations of his mental health at the hearing.

The hearing is scheduled for November 18-22.

Requests for comment from the prosecutor’s office and the attorney representing Menzies were not returned Monday night.

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