Why was Ramiro Gonzáles sentenced to death?

• Why was Ramiro Gonzáles sentenced to death?
• He was to be executed on July 13.
• His execution was delayed due to false testimony.

Ramiro Gonzáles continues to be one of today’s most infamous prisoners because his execution was stayed due to the false testimony of a mental health professional. But, before his lawyers and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals decided to delay his death sentence, he had made a special request to the governor of Texas.

Gonzáles had asked to donate his kidney because he wanted to «atone for his crimes.» The man faced execution after murdering an 18-year-old girl in 2001. Before the court delayed his sentence, he wrote a letter to the young woman’s family apologizing for her murder.

WHY WAS RAMIRO GONZÁLEZ SENTENCED TO DEATH?

After it became known that Ramiro Gonzáles’ sentence had been delayed, questions arose regarding his criminal record because the false testimony of a psychiatrist may have led to his death sentence. The Hispanic prisoner turned himself in to the authorities in 2003 after kidnapping, raping and murdering Bridget Townsend.

Ramiro Gonzáles was sentenced to death in 2006, after confessing that he had kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered 18-year-old Bridget Townsend with a gun. According to reports, the young woman was reported missing in 2001 and the authorities had searched for her unsuccessfully.

Why did he commit the crime?

In 2003 Ramiro Gonzáles confessed to the crime he had committed after being convicted of kidnapping and raping another woman. He reported that he had gone to Bridget Townsend’s house because he was looking for his drug supplier and he then decided to some steal cocaine and money. He was 21 years old and had a drug addiction problem.

He wound up kidnapping 18-year-old Townsend. He later took her to her family’s ranch in neighboring Medina County, where he sexually assaulted the girl before killing her. Her remains were not found until nearly two years later, The Associated Press reported. The authorities were able to find her remains because Gonzáles confessed where they were buried.

Two life sentences?

After confessing his crimes, he was imprisoned at the age of 23. Ramiro Gonzáles spent three years in prison in the state of Texas, before being sentenced for his crimes. In 2006 a Medina County jury decided that he should die for the murder of Bridget Townsend, AP indicated.

Gonzales had already received two life sentences for the kidnapping and rape of a Bandera County woman when he told authorities they could find Townsend’s remains at her family’s ranch in adjacent Medina County, The Associated Press reported. Ten years later the authorities made a date for his execution.

Did he ask for a review of the case?

In December 2015, Ramiro Gonzáles’s lawyers asked for his case to be reviewed. At the time, the US Supreme Court refused to review his case, The Associated Press reported. In May 2016, the court decided to end his life and set a date for his execution for the first time.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark said at the time that the agency received court documents setting Ramiro Gonzales up for lethal injection on August 10, 2016. Shortly after, the execution date was changed and it was postponed for around six more years.

Did Ramiro Gonzáles ask to donate his organs?

In June 2022, Ramiro Gonzáles again requested that his execution be delayed because he wanted to donate a kidney. At first, he requested that it be postponed for 180 days, but his request was denied. After that, he sent a letter to Governor Greg Abbott where he explained his reasons for donating a kidney and pointed out that in this way «his crimes would be atoned for.»

Again, his request was denied and his execution was expected on July 13. The situation was complicated for the authorities because requests began to emerge from the public, asking that the 39-year-old man be allowed to fulfill his desire to donate an organ. The petition collected thousands of signatures and, just when they thought that there was no longer any hope, the situation changed.

Did he apologize to the Townsend family?

As the situation did not seem to change for Ramiro, he wrote a letter to Bridget Townsend’s family, asking for forgiveness for his crimes against their daughter that ended with her death. In the letter, he repeatedly apologized and pointed out that none of his words would serve to heal the damage he did to them.

“I’m sorry, deeply sorry, that I took what was so precious to you and I know there is nothing I can do or say to make it better. I have absolutely no excuse for what I have done and there is absolutely no one to blame except me,” Ramiro Gonzáles wrote in a letter to the family of the young woman he murdered, according to AP. Filed Under: What did Ramiro Gonzáles do

Why did was his execution stayed?

An appeals court on Monday, July 11, stayed the execution of a death row inmate who had questioned whether prosecutors had presented false and inaccurate expert testimony about whether he would commit more crimes in the future, The Associated Press reported. The false testimony was presented by the psychiatrist who treated him and who presented non-viable information.

Gonzales’ attorneys had asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to stay his execution, arguing that prosecutors presented false testimony that wrongly claimed he would be a future danger, a legal finding necessary to impose a death sentence. AP indicated. Filed Under: What did Ramiro Gonzáles do

False testimony?

His lawyers had argued that an expert for the prosecution, psychiatrist Edward Gripon, had falsely testified that people who commit sexual assault «have an extremely high rate of… recidivism,» as high as 80%. It was not immediately known whether the Texas Attorney General’s Office will appeal the stay of execution.

In its three-page order on Monday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said Gonzales’ attorneys had made sufficient assertions “’to show that the recidivism rate testimony Gripon gave at trial was false and… that false testimony could have affected the jury’s response to the question of the future dangerousness,'» reported the AP. Filed Under: What did Ramiro Gonzáles do