Ralph Menzies: Death row inmate granted commutation hearing by Board of Pardons and Parole

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole (BOP) is granting Ralph Menzies a commutation hearing following a petition filed by his attorneys earlier this month.

Menzies was convicted in 1988 for the 1986 aggravated murder, kidnapping, and robbery of Maurine Hunsaker. He was placed on death row, where he has remained for the last 37 years as appeals have been filed.

Today, the BOP announced that they will be granting Menzies a commutation hearing. The hearing has not been scheduled, but a date should be selected within the next few days.

In the petition for commutation filed by Menzies’ attorneys, several key arguments were outlined, mainly revolving around Menzies’ declining health, the presiding judge and former chief justice involved not standing by the death penalty, Menzies’ behavior while incarcerated, and questions regarding the basis of his death sentence.

The BOP will be reviewing previously gathered information from the competency review and ruling. They will call witnesses and provide an opportunity for victim representatives to speak during the hearing. They will not be ordering a new review of Menzies’ competency, however.

“The Board also notes that, even if it found Mr. Menzies incompetent … the remedy would be to appoint counsel or a lay representative to assist Mr. Menzies with the hearing. … Since Mr. Menzies is already represented by counsel, there is no additional remedy available for Mr.
Menzies. Accordingly, the Board denies the request to initiate a competency inquiry,” the order granting the commutation hearing reads.

The BOP argues that the trial court found Menzies competent to be executed previously, and that the only remedy that could be offered by a new review of his competency would be assigning him the assistance of counsel or a representative, which Menzies already has.

Who is Ralph Menzies?

On February 23, 1986, Maurine Hunsaker was abducted from the Gas-A-Mat convenience store and gas station in Kearns, Utah, where she was employed. Her husband called the convenience store and went in person when she did not pick up. When he arrived, he found that Hunsaker was missing, along with her purse.

According to documents, Hunsaker called the home phone and told her husband that she had been instructed to tell him she was kidnapped and robbed. A police officer spoke with Hunsaker, and she indicated that the kidnapper intended to release her.

Days later, on February 25, 1986, a hiker found Hunsaker deceased near a picnic area in Big Cottonwood Canyon. She had been strangled to death, according to the medical examiner, and her throat was cut. Marks on her wrists and scuffing on a nearby tree indicated that she had been tied to it somehow.

During this time, Menzies was booked into jail on an unrelated burglary charge. When officers were taking his possessions, Menzies ran away and hid in a changing room. Later, identification cards were located in the changing room’s hamper, and an officer realized that they belonged to Hunsaker.

Witnesses further connected Menzies to the disappearance and murder of Maurine Hunsaker, and some had even seen him with her on the night of her murder. In 1988, a jury found Menzies guilty, and he was placed on death row for the serious and senseless crime.