Texas Executes Convicted Rapist-Murderer on Teen Victim's Birthday; Killer Gives Regretful Last Words to Victim's Family
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
A Texas man who raped and murdered an 18-year-old woman in 2001 was executed the night of June 26 after issuing an apology to her family.
Ramiro Gonzales, 41, was executed by lethal injection for killing Bridget Townsend, whose body was dumped in a field, according to USA Today. The execution took place on what would have been Townsend’s 41st birthday.
“I can’t put into words the pain I have caused y’all, the hurt, what I took away that I cannot give back,” Gonzales said as he neared his death, the newspaper reported, citing a transcript provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
“I never stopped praying for all of you. I never stopped praying that you would forgive me and that one day I would have this opportunity to apologize. I owe all of you my life and I hope one day you will forgive me,” Gonzales said. “To all your family, I’m sorry.”
His final words were, “God bless you all. Warden, I’m ready.”
A statement from Gonzales’s lawyers said the convicted killer had changed behind bars.
“The man put to death for those acts was a different person,” the statement said, according to USA Today, claiming that Gonzales was an abused child and teenager who made “poor choices” and “sought escape through drugs.”
“And he caused irrevocable harms. He took the life of Bridget Townsend, and he attacked “another woman,” the statement said. “We grieve for these women and their families. So did he.”
The statement called Gonzales “a deeply spiritual, generous, patient, and intentional person, full of remorse, someone whose driving force was love.”
The remains of Bridget Townsend weren’t found until two years after she vanished when Gonzales led authorities to the spot in Southwest Texas where he left her body. https://t.co/IoKX2OXm9K
— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) June 27, 2024
Patricia Townsend, Bridget Townsend’s mother said the killer’s childhood “should not have anything to do with it.”
“I know a lot of people that had a hard childhood,” she said several days before the execution, according to USA Today.
David Townsend, the victim’s brother, witnessed the execution.
“We have finally witnessed justice being served,” he said, according to The Associated Press. “This day marks the end of a long and painful journey for our family. For over two decades we have endured unimaginable pain and heartache.”
Gonzales’ death “provides us a little bit of peace. I do want to say we are not joyous. We are not happy. This is a very, very sad day for everyone all the way around,” he said.
Bridget Townsend was at the home of her boyfriend when Gonzales went there to steal drugs or money. When she tried to call her boyfriend, Gonzales stopped her, tied her and took her to his grandfather’s ranch before raping her, killing her, and burying her in a field.
In 2003, he revealed where he had buried her.
Texas inmate set to be executed on what would have been teen victim’s 41st birthday https://t.co/1DBLmTGtzR
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) June 26, 2024
The killer’s execution followed a last-ditch appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution, arguing that he no longer fit the criteria Texas uses for execution, according to CNN. The court denied the request.
Gonzales sought to say that he was no longer a danger, one of the conditions Texas requires a jury to consider when deciding upon a death penalty verdict.
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