Firing squad execution halted for inmate who murdered a mother of 3. What happened?

The Utah Supreme Court has stopped a firing squad execution set for next week over concerns that the inmate being put to death has dementia so severe, that he doesn't understand why he's being killed.

The court's ruling on Friday, Aug. 29, vacates the execution warrant for Ralph Menzies and sends the case back to a lower court so that his mental capacity can be reevaluated.

Menzies, 67, had been set to die by firing squad just after midnight on Friday, Sept. 5, for the 1986 murder of 26-year-old Maurine Hunsaker, a married mother of three who was kidnapped, robbed, strangled, and found tied to a tree with her throat slit.

Menzies' attorney, Lindsey Layer, told USA TODAY that Menzies' dementia has "significantly worsened" since his last evaluation over a year ago.

"He’s tethered to an oxygen tank, uses a wheelchair, is confused and disoriented, and no longer understands why the State of Utah is trying to kill him," she said. "We look forward to presenting our case in the trial court."

The Utah Attorney General's Office did not immediately respond to questions about whether it will appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court or accept a new mental evaluation for Menzies.

Jared Garcia, executive director of the Utah Department of Corrections, said in a statement that the agency "will continue to carefully monitor the situation and remains prepared to carry out the sentence of the court when and if we are called upon to do so.”

Utah's 3rd District Court Judge Matthew Bates previously rejected arguments about Menzies' dementia, ruling in June that while the inmate exhibited cognitive decline during his last evaulation, he "consistently and rationally understands the reasons for his death sentence.”

Here's what you need to know about the case, including how Maurine Hunsaker's family feels.

What was Ralph Menzies convicted of?

Menzies was convicted of murdering Maurine Hunsaker, who was just a few days shy of turning 27 when she was kidnapped from the gas station where she worked as an attendant in the Salt Lake City suburb of Kearns on Feb. 23, 1986.

No one witnessed the abduction but authorities became concerned when customers at the gas station reported that there was no attendant. Police found some of Hunsaker's belongings behind the counter and $70 missing from the register.

Later that night, Hunsaker called her husband, who was with a sheriff's deputy, and told him that she had been robbed and kidnapped but that her abductor intended to release her, according to court records.

Soon after, the line went dead. A hiker found Hunsaker's body two days later in a picnic area of Big Cottonwood Canyon just south of Salt Lake City. She had been strangled and her throat had been cut.

Detectives connected Menzies to the crime when they say they found Hunsaker's identification cards among his belongings when he was picked up on unrelated charges. Menzies maintained his innocence.

At trial, prosecutor Ernie Jones called Menzies a "psychopath," saying that "there is no therapy for the evil inside" him, according to an archived story in the Salt Lake Tribune. His defense attorney at the time, Brooke Wells, argued for leniency, saying that Menzies had a long history of being abused and neglected as a child and had been diagnosed with mental disorders, the Tribune reported.

Third District Court Judge Raymond Uno appeared to struggle with the death decision but ultimately said he needed to protect the community, citing Menzies' long history of violent offenses.

"It is with the heaviest of heart that I make this most difficult decision," he said, according to an another archived Salt Lake Tribune story. "I find the death penalty is appropriate."

What are the arguments over Ralph Menzies' competency?

Now nearly 40 years after the crime, Menzies' attorneys say he "no longer exhibits an awareness that he is being executed for the crime of murder," according to a competency petition.

That awareness is critical. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that an inmate can't be executed if they don't understand why they're being executed.

The court criticized Judge Bates' decisions to schedule Menzies' execution and reject all new evidence that the inmate's cognitive function has continued to deteriorate.

Citing two expert reports that "raise serious and significant questions about whether Menzies is competent to be executed," the court said: "For the district court to weigh the evidence and conclude otherwise at this stage was error."

In his June ruling about Menzies' competency hearing in November, Bates found that "Menzies consistently and rationally understands the reasons for his death sentence." Bates declined to approve a new competency evaluation in July, though it had been eight months since the previous one.

How do the victim's family members feel?

Maurine Hunsaker's son, Matthew Hunsaker, declined to comment on the latest development, asking for privacy.

He previously told USA TODAY that he believes Menzies' dementia arguments are a ploy and that the inmate's condition is being exaggerated in an effort to spare his life.

"I'm not buying that he doesn't understand what's going on," he said, adding that Menzies' attorneys "have brought no evidence before the court by any doctors, staff cellmates, anybody, that when he wakes up in the morning he doesn’t know where he's at. He knows he's in prison for killing my mom."

He had been planning to attend the execution "just to see the closure myself."

The Utah Supreme Court justices said that they understand their ruling could distress the Hunsaker family.

“We acknowledge that this uncertainty has caused the family of Maurine Hunsaker immense suffering, and it is not our desire to prolong that suffering," the ruling said. "But we are bound by the rule of law."

What's next?

The Utah Attorney General's Office can appeal the ruling the U.S. Supreme Court, which has the power to reverse it and allow the execution to proceed, though it has previously stopped other executions over dementia concerns.

If an appeal isn't filed or the U.S. Supreme Court does not overturn the lower court's decision, Menzies will need to undergo a new competency evaluation.

Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime reporter for USA TODAY. Follow her on X at @amandaleeusat.