Ralph Menzies was scheduled to be executed on September 5, 2025 for the 1986 murder of Maurine Hunsaker. On August 29, 2025, the Utah Supreme Court halted the execution pending further proceedings.  Read the Utah Supreme Court ruling here.

UPDATE (Nov 26, 2025): Ralph Menzies died of natural causes in a Salt Lake City area hospital on Nov. 26, 2025. No further action is requested.

UPDATE (Nov 21, 2025): An evaluator has found Ralph Menzies to be incompetent to be executed in Utah. His firing squad execution was halted in August by the Utah Supreme Court, which ordered an updated evaluation of Menzies' mental capacity. The Court still has to hold a hearing to consider the new report, and the state can still challenge the findings or ask for further evaluations, but it now seems more likely that he will allowed die in prison of natural causes rather than in a hail of bullets. This petition will be updated when further information is available.

Jenn Herron, whose birth-mother was the victim in the case, expressed relief and offered these words:

"Competent or otherwise, no individual is ever justified in taking another’s life. Whether we label it murder or execution, the act is fundamentally the same—and fundamentally wrong."

Wheelchair-Bound Man on Oxygen with Severe Dementia...

Menzies' lawyers have argued he has dementia and cannot be executed under the Constitution. Arguments made in court on July 9, 2025 focused on a new assertions that his medical condition has worsened since he was most recently evaluated by medical professionals. Judge Bates did not rule out halting proceedings in the future based on a new petition for competency filed by his defense team.

This petition will be updated with additional information. Please opt-in to the email list when signing this petition in order to receive updates.