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A 3rd District judge rules Ralph Menzies competent for execution despite a dementia diagnosis.

Menzies was convicted of a 1988 murder; legal battles have delayed his execution.

The judge cites Menzies' understanding of crime and punishment as part of reason for decision.

SALT LAKE CITY — A man convicted of abducting, robbing and killing a Salt Lake woman in 1988 is competent to be executed despite suffering from dementia, a judge ruled Friday.

The ruling means that the state can move forward with its plans to execute Ralph Leroy Menzies, 67, who has sat on death row for decades.

"Although Menzies has shown he has vascular dementia, he has not shown by a preponderance of the evidence that his mental condition prevents him from reaching a

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