The daughter of Ralph Menzies’ victim speaks out against the death penalty weeks before his scheduled execution

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Weeks before Ralph Menzies’ scheduled execution, his victim’s oldest daughter is speaking out against the death penalty.

In a meeting held by Utahns Against the Death Penalty Friday, Jennifer Herron, the oldest daughter of Maurine Hunsaker, spoke to her position on the death penalty.

Ralph Menzies was convicted of kidnapping, robbing, and killing Hunsaker in 1988.

Two sides to one issue

“I do oppose the death penalty. I don’t think it’s fair. It doesn’t get us anywhere,” Herron said. “It wasn’t right for him to kill, why should it be right for us to kill? It’s the same as what he’s done if we execute him.”

Other members of the Hunsaker family disagree. Matt Hunsaker, Maurine’s son, told ABC4 it’s not just about punishment, it’s about turning the page on a lifetime of loss. “We were at peace either way, but now let’s see this execution happen, let’s get this over with, and let’s let the family close this chapter and move on.”

Herron says her mom’s murder is one of her earliest memories and consequently caused her severe anxiety and depression for decades.

“If we do execute him, we’re not allowing our society to rise above,” Herron said, adding that she was able to find peace, and hopes others can as well without putting Menzies to death. “We’re better than that. We’re a better people.”

Utah’s last execution by firing squad

While Utah’s most recent death row inmate to be executed was Taberon Honie just over one year ago, the last time the state executed an inmate by firing squad took place in 2010.

On June 18, 2010, Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by firing squad after being convicted of a murder that took place during a robbery of Cheers Tavern in Salt Lake City.

Randy Gardner, brother of Ronnie Lee Gardner, also spoke out about his opposition to the death penalty in Friday’s meeting.

“We don’t condone what these criminals [do] and what my brother did, and I don’t condone the State of Utah doing the same thing that [he] did,” Gardner said.

Gardner says it took him years to obtain the autopsy report after his brother’s execution. However, he says what he found was deeply concerning.

Casting doubts on firing squad

Dr. Jonathan Groner, a retired surgeon who worked in a pediatric trauma center in Columbus Ohio for over a decade, analyzed Gardner’s autopsy report after its release.

“I was surprised by seeing these exit wounds in these locations,” Dr. Groner said after examining the bullet wounds in Gardner’s body.

Images taken after Gardner’s execution show the bullets entering to the left of the heart under his left nipple — a place traditionally believed to be the heart’s location.

“Mr. Gardner’s heart is higher than any of these bullets and over the center part of his body,” Dr. Groner said Friday. “The heart is under your sternum, or breastbone.”

Gardner was declared dead two minutes after being shot.

According to reporting by the Associated Press, firing squads in Utah entail five shooters with .30-caliber Winchester rifles who set up about 25 feet from the inmate.

One of the shooters fires a blank, while the other four fire normal rounds to ensure nobody knows which officer kills the inmate.

Gardner’s autopsy showed four separate entry and exit wounds. His brother questioned if the firing squad was affective in carrying out a humane death.

“From 15 or 20 feet away… why aren’t those holes one big hole?” Gardner said of his brother’s wounds.

“Why some people seem to get it done right, and some people don’t, might be an interesting thing that might be worth discussing,” Dr. Groner said.

Ralph Menzies scheduled execution

The state held a four-day commutation hearing between Thursday, Aug. 7 to Friday Aug. 15, for Menzies to decide whether or not his declining health would prevent him from facing the death penalty.

Menzies’ attorneys cited “unmistakable signs of dementia” and dependence upon oxygen as reasons he was not fit to face the death penalty.

“Taking the life of someone with a terminal illness who is no longer a threat to anyone and whose mind and identity have been overtaken by dementia, serves neither justice nor human decency,” Menzie’s attorney, Lindsey Layer, said during the hearing.

Meanwhile, the state argued that there was no legal reason not to sign the execution warrant. Furthermore, attorneys for the state argued that there was not sufficient change or cognitive decline in Menzies’ condition.

Judge Matthew Bates heard arguments from both the state and Menzie’s attorneys. Ultimately, Judge Bates sided with the state, ruling there was no legal issue to hold off on signing the execution order.

Menzies is scheduled to be executed on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, at midnight. Utahns Against the Death Penalty will be holding an ecumenical vigil about two miles from the prison. The vigil will begin at approximately 10:30 p.m. the night before on Sept. 4.

McKenzie Diaz, Scott Lewis, Trevor Smith, Sorina Trauntvein, Derick Fox, and the Associated Press all contributed to this reporting.