Longtime death row inmate shouldn't be executed because he has dementia, lawyers argue

Salt Lake City — Attorneys for a Utah man who's been on death row for 37 years sought to convince a state judge Wednesday that the convicted murderer should be spared execution because he has dementia.

Ralph Leroy Menzies appeared at the hearing, reports CBS Salt Lake City affiliate KUTV.

Menzies was sentenced to die in 1988 for the killing of Maurine Hunsaker, a mother of three. His attorneys said the 67-year-old inmate's dementia is so severe that he can't understand why he's facing execution.