Who is Ramiro Gonzáles, the Hispanic inmate sentenced to death?

• Who is Ramiro Gonzales?
• The inmate was set to be executed on July 13.
• His execution was stayed because of potentially false testimony.

WHY IS THIS INMATE SO POPULAR? After it was announced last Monday that Ramiro Gonzáles’ execution had been stayed, questions about his criminal past have begun to arise. He was sentenced to death for raping, kidnapping and murdering an 18-year-old girl in 2001. More than 21 years after the incident, he was expected to be executed on July 13.

But the fact that his sentence was delayed was not the only thing that made this case popular. Ramiro Gonzáles caught the public’s attention when he asked the Governor of Texas to stay his execution because he wanted to «atone for his crimes» by donating a kidney before he died. The request was rejected.

WHY DID RAMIRO GONZALES BECOME WELL-KNOWN?

On Tuesday, the story of Ramiro Gonzáles continued to spread and questions arise after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stayed his execution. The 39-year-old Hispanic inmate had attempted to avoid execution by requesting a 180-day delay so he could donate one of his kidneys. This request was denied hours before he received a stay for another reason.

On Monday, Ramirez received a stay of execution when questions arose over whether prosecutors had presented false and inaccurate expert testimony about whether he would commit more crimes in the future, The Associated Press reported. Now, the criminal history of Ramiro Gonzáles is causing controversy again due to the false testimony presented by a mental health professional.

Who is Ramiro Gonzales?

The name of Ramiro Gonzáles emerged in 2003 when he decided to confess to the Texas authorities about a crime he committed against an 18-year-old girl. At the time, Ramirez was 23 years old and going through a difficult time with drugs. He said that was what led him to commit the crime for which he ended up being sentenced to death.

Ramiro Gonzales, 39, was to receive a lethal injection for fatally shooting Bridget Townsend. Gonzales kidnapped Townsend, who was the girlfriend of his drug dealer, from a Bandera County home in January 2001 after stealing drugs and money, The Associated Press reported.

He kidnapped her for drugs?

Ramirez was going through withdrawal, so he went to his dealer’s house and attacked the man’s girlfriend. He not only kidnapped her, but took her to her family’s ranch in neighboring Medina County, where he sexually assaulted Bridget Townsend, before shooting her in the head, the AP reported.

It took two years for the remains of Bridget Townsend to be found by the authorities. Ramirez confessed to the terrible crime he had committed against the young woman, who was reported missing, after receiving two life sentences for kidnapping and raping another woman.

When was he sentenced to death?

A Medina County jury in 2006 decided that Gonzales should die for the murder of Bridget Townsend. She was reported missing from her Bandera County home in January 2001, The Associated Press reported. At that time, Ramiro Gonzáles was 24 years old and stated that he was sorry for his actions.

Gonzales was sentenced to two life sentences for the kidnapping and rape of another Bandera County woman when he told authorities they could find Townsend’s remains at her family’s ranch in adjacent Medina County, the AP reported. Later, in December 2015, he tried to have his case reviewed by the jury, but they denied his case.

Did he want to donate his kidney?

According to the AP, shortly before the stay was granted, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied a request by Gonzales’ attorneys to commute his death sentence to a lesser sentence or delay his execution for 180 days so he could donate a kidney to someone who may need it.

Gonzales had also asked Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to delay his execution for 30 days so he could donate a kidney, The Associated Press reported. The request was denied by the authorities and it was taken into account that his execution would be on July 13. Now the jury must make a decision on the judgment of Gonzales.