FILE - Ralph Leroy Menzies appears in Third District Court for a competency hearing in West Jordan, Utah, Monday, Nov 18, 2024. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File) The Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY -- A convicted killer in Utah who developed dementia while on death row for 37 years is competent enough to be executed, a state judge ruled late Friday.

Ralph Leroy Menzies, 67, was sentenced to die in 1988 for killing Utah mother of three Maurine Hunsaker. Despite his recent cognitive decline, Menzies “consistently and rationally understands" what is happening and why he is facing execution, Judge Matthew Bates wrote in a court order.

“Menzies has not shown by a preponderance of the evidence that his understanding of his specific crime and punishment has fluctuated

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