Utah Death Row Inmate With Dementia Dies 3 Months After Court Blocked His Execution

Ralph Menzies, convicted of killing Maurine Hunsaker, attends his commutation hearing at the Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City on Aug. 15, 2025. Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool
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SALT LAKE CITY—A Utah man who was spared execution this fall after developing dementia during his 37 years on death row died Wednesday of apparent natural causes, according to the state’s Department of Corrections.

Ralph Leroy Menzies, 67, was set to die by firing squad in September, but the Utah Supreme Court blocked the impending execution in August after his attorneys argued his dementia had become too severe. A judge had scheduled a new competency hearing for mid-December to reevaluate his mental state.