A death row inmate is set to be executed tonight for a 2001 rape and murder of an 18-year-old woman after his last ditch bid for clemency was denied despite a key witness changing his testimony.
Ramiro Gonzales, 41, admitted to kidnapping, raping and fatally shooting Bridget Townsend, 18, whose remains weren't found until October 2002, when Gonzales led authorities to the spot in Southwest Texaswhere he left her body.
'I just want (Townsend's mother) to know how sorry I really am. I took everything that was valuable from a mother,' Gonzales, who was 18 years old at the time of the killing, said in a video submitted as part of his clemency request to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.
'So, every day it's a continual task to do everything that I can to feel that responsibility for the life that I took.'
His execution by lethal injection is planned for June 26 at the state penitentiary in Huntsville after his last minute bid for a pardon was refused.
Ramiro Gonzales, 41, admitted to kidnapping, raping and fatally shooting Bridget Townsend, 18, in 2001. Her remains were not found until 2002
Bridget Townsend, pictured here, was the 18-year-old girlfriend of Gonzales' drug dealer. He kidnapped, bound and raped her before shooting her dead and burying her in 2001
Gonzales' lawyers argued that he has taken responsibility for what he did and that a prosecution expert witness now says he was wrong in testifying that Gonzales would be a future danger to society, a legal finding needed to impose a death sentence.
But the Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 7-0 against. In 2022, Gonzales and his supporters were involved in a bizarre plot that involved him being given a stay of execution in exchange for him donating a kidney.
'He has earnestly devoted himself to self-improvement, contemplation, and prayer, and has grown into a mature, peaceful, kind, loving, and deeply religious adult,' Gonzales' lawyers wrote Monday in their petition for clemency.
'He acknowledges his responsibility for his crimes and has sought to atone for them and to seek redemption through his actions.'
A group of faith leaders have also asked authorities to stop Gonzales' execution.
The killer's lawyers argue that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has violated his constitutional rights by declining to review his claims that a prosecution expert, psychiatrist Edward Gripon, wrongly asserted Gonzales would be a future danger.
After re-evaluating Gonzales in 2022, Gripon said his prediction was wrong.
Gonzales was condemned for fatally shooting Townsend after stealing drugs and money and kidnapping her in January 2001 from a home in Bandera County, located northwest of San Antonio.
He took her to his family's ranch in neighboring Medina County, where he sexually assaulted her and killed her.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, pictured, will not pardon Gonzales
Gonzales was denied a 180-day reprieve and pardon from the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole in 2022
Bridget Townsend's brother isn't persuaded. In various petitions and posts on Change.org, David Townsend has criticized efforts to portray Gonzales as anything other than a convicted murderer who committed 'unforgivable acts.'
He said the death sentence should be carried out.
'Our family seeks not revenge, but closure and a measure of peace after years of heartache - a quest that is hindered, not helped, by decisions that allow the perpetrator of our pain to remain in the public eye,' David Townsend wrote.
Earlier this month, a group of 11 evangelical leaders from Texas and around the country asked the parole board and Gov. Greg Abbott to halt the execution and grant clemency to Gonzalez, saying he now helps other death row inmates through a faith-based program.
'We are writing as Christians calling for you to spare the life of another Christian - Ramiro Gonzales. Ramiro has changed. Because he has changed, we believe the circ*mstances surrounding him should change as well,' they wrote.
On Monday, the parole board voted 7-0 against commuting Gonzales' death sentence to a lesser penalty. Members also rejected granting a six-month reprieve.
Prosecutors described Gonzales as a sexual predator who told police he ignored Townsend's pleas to spare her life. They argued that jurors reached the right decision on a death sentence because he had a long criminal history and showed no remorse.
'The State's punishment case was overwhelming,' the Texas Attorney General's Office said. 'Even if Dr. Gripon's testimony were wiped from the punishment slate, it would not have mattered.'
If Gonzales' execution proceeds, it would be the second this year in Texas and the eight in the whole US in 2024.
