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A convicted killer in Utah who developed dementia during his time on death row is competent enough to be executed, a state judge ruled on Friday.

Ralph Leroy Menzies, 67, was found guilty and sentenced to death in March 1988 for the 1986 killing of Maurine Hunsaker, a 26-year-old mother of three.

Judge Matthew Bates said Menzies “consistently and rationally understands” what is happening and why he is facing execution, despite his recent cognitive decline.

“Menzies has not shown by a preponderance of the evidence that his understanding of his specific crime and punishment has fluctuated or declined in a way that offends the Eighth Amendment,” which prohibits cruel and unusual punishments, Bates said in his court order.

Menzies selected the

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