WEST JORDAN, Utah — Condemned killer Ralph Leroy Menzies is facing a competency hearing to determine if he can be executed or not.
On Monday, Menzies was brought to a courtroom for the start of a week long hearing to determine if he is competent enough to be executed. His lawyers argue that Menzies has dementia and therefore his execution would be unconstitutional. Lawyers for the state have contested that.
"Mr. Menzies must understand meaning and purpose, he must understand the link between crime and punishment and he must understand the goal, part of society’s goal is deterrence," Menzies' attorney, Eric Zuckerman, told the judge on Monday morning. "Mr. Menzies has vascular dementia… our experts and [the Utah Department of Health & Human Services] agree with that diagnosis."
Menzies can appear "fine on a good day and worse on a bad day," his attorney said.
"Even on a good day, he’s still significantly impaired," Zuckerman said.
Menzies was sentenced to death for the 1986 kidnapping and murder of Maurine Hunsaker. In January, the Utah Attorney General's office filed a warrant for Menzies' execution after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his last appeal.
Multiple experts who have evaluated Menzies are expected to testify on their evaluations of him.
This is a breaking news story. Updates on fox13now.com and FOX 13 News as information becomes available.
