SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The man who has been on death row for nearly 40 years after being convicted of killing a mother of three was found competent to be executed in court Friday, despite having dementia.

The judge ordered that Ralph Leroy Menzies (67) failed to prove that his vascular dementia prevents him from understanding his punishment or the state’s reasons for it, and because of that, he is competent to be executed, according to court documents obtained by ABC4.com.

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Menzies’ attorney provided a statement to ABC4.com about the ruling, which you can read below.

“We respectfully disagree with the Court’s order and plan to appeal to the Utah Supreme Court. Ralph Menzies is a severely brain-damaged, whe

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