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Ralph Leroy Menzies faces a commutation hearing before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.

His attorneys argue dementia makes him unfit for execution, seeking to change his sentence to life imprisonment.

The Utah Board of Pardons will make a decision before his scheduled execution on Sept. 5.

SALT LAKE CITY — The commutation hearing for death row inmate Ralph Leroy Menzies begins this morning at the Utah State Prison.

At stake is whether the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will change Menzies's death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Menzies, 67, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad early on the morning of Sept. 5.

Over the next three days, board members will hear testimony from attorneys both for and against commuting his sentenc

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