Texas execution candidate says he has changed since killing teenager

A death row inmate in Texas scheduled to be executed this week says he is not the same man he was when he raped and killed an 18-year-old woman in 2001.

Ramiro Gonzales, 41, is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday for the death of 18-year-old Bridget Townsend. 18-year-old Bridget Townsend was kidnapped, raped and shot on January 14, 2001, on a ranch in Bandera, a small town in the Texas Hill Country, about 40 miles northwest of San Antonio.

If executed, Gonzales would be the second inmate to be executed in Texas this year and the eighth in the country.

Gonzales’ execution was originally scheduled for July 13, 2022, but was stayed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals two days before the scheduled date, citing a state expert who claimed he had given false testimony at trial.

Now that his execution is back on the calendar, Gonzales has filed a barrage of appeals and a clemency petition, asking Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant a lesser sentence or more time. Abbott, who calls the death penalty “Texas justice,” has overseen the execution of 73 inmates since taking office in 2015 and granted clemency in one case.

As execution day approaches, USA TODAY looks back at Gonzales’ crimes and what led him down a path that ended in the gruesome death of a young woman.

“Deep descent into addiction” began after the death of the beloved aunt

Gonzales was physically and sexually abused throughout his childhood, often by relatives, and was the epitome of an “unwanted child,” clinical psychologist Kate Porterfield says in a pardon video submitted to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on June 4.

Gonzales was abandoned by his mother at birth and grew up in the care of his grandparents in a small cinder block house near Bandera, where his grandfather worked as a ranch hand. Because both grandparents worked long hours, Gonzales was mostly alone and unsupervised, according to the video.

Loretta Gonzales, an aunt, quickly became one of Gonzales’ only sources of comfort in an otherwise “extraordinarily traumatic” environment where events “were among the most toxic stressors a child can experience,” Porterfield said.

“My Aunt Loretta… she’s the reason I did better in school,” Gonzales said in the video. “She’s the reason I did homework. She’s the reason I played sports.”

When Loretta was killed by a drunk driver in May 1998, things began to go wrong for Gonzales.

“Loretta’s death plunged Ramiro into inconsolable grief,” he said in his petition for clemency. “(He was) desperate and completely overwhelmed by the loss and turned to drugs to numb his pain,” he said in the petition for clemency.

“Deep Descent into Addiction” contributed to the events that unfolded

What began as self-medication quickly developed into a full-blown drug and alcohol addiction in the years that followed, leading Ramiro Gonzales to “steal and forge checks” to finance the addiction. According to the clemency petition, he also began running errands for his drug dealer, Joe Leal, to obtain more drugs and pay off his debts.

Gonzales’ “deep descent into addiction” led to Jan. 14, 2001, the day he kidnapped, raped and killed Townsend, who was in a relationship with Leal. Gonzales went to Leal’s house to get more drugs, but only Townsend was there, court documents show.

After Gonzales came in and stole some cash, Townsend began calling Leal. Then Gonzales “pushed her, dragged her into the bedroom and bound her hands and feet with nylon rope he found in the closet,” court records say. He then drove her to his grandfather’s ranch, where he raped and shot her and disposed of her body, court records say.

Townsend’s disappearance remained unsolved for nearly two years until Gonzales decided to confess to the murder, which led authorities to her remains. At the time, Gonzales was serving a life sentence for the rape and kidnapping of another woman, a crime that occurred more than a year after Townsend’s murder.

“Ramiro was suffering from a severe addiction at the time, which had its roots in his drug use in the womb, exacerbated by the trauma and neglect that characterized his childhood,” his petition for clemency states.

State and victim’s family reject Ramiro Gonzales’ statements

Gonzales’ arguments failed to convince either the Texas authorities or Townsend’s still grieving family.

“Although Gonzales admitted guilt in both cases, he continued to deny responsibility for these heinous crimes, saying in one case he enjoyed the crime and in the other case it was consensual,” William Stephens, former director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, wrote in a court document.

Patricia Townsend, Bridget Townsend’s mother, told USA TODAY that Gonzales’ execution will be a “joyful event” for her and her family, who have waited so long for justice.

“She was a wonderful person who loved life and people,” she said. “He deserves no mercy… And his childhood should have nothing to do with it. I know a lot of people who had difficult childhoods. You shouldn’t feel sorry for him because of that. He made his choice.”

Ramiro Gonzales says he has undergone a spiritual transformation

Gonzales says his life changed the night a preacher handed him a Bible while he was behind bars awaiting trial for Townsend’s murder.

“I stayed awake and read the Bible… A few days later, everything in me was yearning for God,” Gonzales says in the grace video. “The conviction was so overwhelming that I knelt down and prayed that God would forgive me for everything.”

Gonzales said he quickly realized he had to “follow God.”

“All I know is that I had to dedicate my life to God. And that I needed his help to get through it,” Gonzales says in the video.

He said he has become the person he always wanted to be by “following a righteous path and working to improve the lives of those around him” by serving God.

“From the men in his faith group, to those who listen to his sermons, to the correctional officers who stop by his cell for comfort, to his friends and pen pals, Ramiro is a shining example of the redemptive power of God’s grace and the ripple effect that power has throughout the world,” the clemency petition states. “Ramiro helps lead people to God, and through God’s power they are transformed.”

In 2022, Gonzales offered to donate a kidney to “atone for the life he took.” The Texas Department of Criminal Justice denied the request, saying it could lead to an “uncertain timeline” and interfere with the execution, according to a court filing.

Gonzales apologizes to Bridget Townsend’s family

In 2022, Gonzales wrote a letter to Townsend’s family saying that his apologies “cannot even begin to bring you peace of mind and healing.”

“But I feel I should still tell you how sorry I am for the pain and anguish you have suffered because of my actions,” Gonzales wrote, according to the clemency petition. “I am sorry, deeply sorry, for taking away what was so precious to you… I know there is nothing I can do or say to make it better.”

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