Texas: Ramiro Gonzales executed – although expert had recanted his testimony

On Wednesday evening, 41-year-old Ramiro Gonzales was executed with a lethal injection, an overdose of pentobarbital, in Huntsville in the US state of Texas.

He was sentenced to death for raping and murdering a young woman of the same age in 2001, two months after his 18th birthday. It was the girlfriend of his drug dealer and Gonzales went to her house to get drugs in the form of a robbery.

His lawyers argued in vain in the appeals that their client should not be executed because he no longer posed a danger to society – an essential condition for a death sentence in Texas: a high probability that the offender will continue to pose a danger in the future.

A psychiatrist attested to this in the original trial against Gonzales. Fifteen years later, the expert revised his verdict and explained that he had relied on false statistics and witness statements that had since been recanted.

In fact, Gonzales has never committed or threatened to commit a single act of violence since he was sentenced to death, but has been an exceptionally active contributor to the community in prison. His commitment to his Christian faith, his service to others behind bars and his (unsuccessful) attempts to donate a kidney to a stranger in need stand out.

Prison authorities provided Gonzales’ final statement before his execution, in which he repeatedly apologized to his victim’s family and said he never stopped praying for their forgiveness:

“I cannot put into words the pain I have caused you. … I have lived the rest of my life for you, as best I could, to compensate you, restore you and take responsibility,” Gonzales said. “I never stopped praying that you would forgive me and that one day I would have the opportunity to ask for your forgiveness.”

The victim’s mother, however, said she was looking forward to Ramiro Gonzales’ execution as a joyous occasion – it was her daughter’s birthday – and declared that he deserved no mercy.

Sources:
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/26/us/texas-death-row-ramiro-gonzales/index.html
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/texas-executes-ramiro-gonzales_n_667c8402e4b07cb66c6cb69d