Testimony wraps in competency dispute for death-row inmate Ralph Menzies

WEST JORDAN — Testimony from doctors about the competency of death row inmate Ralph Leroy Menzies ended Monday, but it could take another five months before the judge reaches a decision on whether he is competent enough to be executed.

A final witness returned to the stand to testify Monday. Now, the court will provide transcripts of the hearing that lasted for a week in November. Once those transcripts are completed, Menzies’ attorneys will have 40 days to file a brief, prosecutors will have another 40 days to file their brief, and then Menzies’ attorneys will have 25 days to respond.

Third District Judge Matthew Bates said this will leave a week or two between when the final brief is filed and when attorneys come back to the court to give closing arguments on April 18. Following that hearing, the judge will take time to issue a written ruling with his ultimate decision.

Menzies, 66, 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.

Matt Hunsaker, son of Maurine Hunsaker, stood up during Monday’s hearing to speak about the repercussions of this delay. He said he understands scheduling with the court is hard, but said April is a long time away and gives Menzies another four months. He said he understands after a judge issues a ruling, it will then be appealed to the Utah Supreme Court, and then the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, and eventually Menzies’ attorneys will return.

“I hate to hear April,” he said, pointing out it is right before Easter weekend.

After the only other date the judge was able to offer landed during spring break for some of the attorneys who had made plans to be out of town, Hunsaker said he would agree to the April date. However, he asked the judge to push for it to happen.

Dr. Lynette M. Abrams-Silva was the final person who testified on Monday as a witness for the defense. She said testimony from Dr. Ryan Green, a witness called by prosecutors who did not agree Menzies has major neurocognitive disorder, ignored cognitive tests where Menzies performed poorly, including some in which he was in the lowest percentile.

“The fact that he is performing at this impaired level demonstrates that something is wrong,” she said.

She said Menzies’ performance was “highly variable.”

Abrams-Silva said it took Menzies 12 attempts to complete a task during an evaluation with Green, but 75 times during an evaluation with her. She said Green helped Menzies complete the task, undermining the purpose of a standardized test.