John Ramirez set to be executed in Texas on Wednesday

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John Ramirez, 38, convicted of murdering a Corpus Christi comfort retailer clerk in 2004, is scheduled to be executed Wednesday, regardless of the objection of the Nueces County district legal professional. And though Ramirez’s execution has been delayed three earlier occasions, his legal professional mentioned he has no additional authorized alternatives to cease the state’s newest try to put him to dying.

Ramirez’s pastor will be alongside him in the dying chamber, fulfilling a request he made throughout his newest scheduled execution one 12 months in the past. Texas initially denied his request to have a pastor contact and pray over him as he was executed, spurring a spiritual liberties case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The excessive court docket discovered Texas had violated Ramirez’s religious liberties by denying his pastor’s presence at his execution.

Following the Supreme Court resolution, an worker in Nueces County District Attorney Mark Gonzalez’s workplace filed for a brand new execution date, regardless of the prosecutor’s moral opposition to the dying penalty. A Texas state district judge denied Gonzalez’s request to cancel the execution date request, once more condemning Ramirez to die by capital punishment.

This week, the ultimate avenues to stop or delay Ramirez’s dying sentence have been exhausted, mentioned his legal professional, Seth Kretzer.

Ramirez’s authorized workforce, with the assist of Gonzalez, filed motions to each the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the District Court of Nueces County to halt the method. But as of Sunday, each makes an attempt had failed.

And on Monday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously denied Ramirez’ request for clemency, successfully eliminating all attainable choices to delay his execution.

Ramirez was convicted of capital homicide in 2008 and sentenced to die for the 2004 homicide and theft of Pablo Castro, a comfort retailer clerk in Corpus Christi. Court data state Ramirez had stabbed Castro 29 occasions throughout a theft spree to get drug cash with two girls. Castro had $1.25 on him.

Gonzalez’s workplace requested dates for Ramirez’s execution 3 times since 2016, however he informed The Texas Tribune that he didn’t realize it was attainable to keep away from setting a date. When he realized his workplace didn’t have to set an execution date, he opted not to achieve this.

Gonzalez mentioned his moral opposition to capital punishment stems from how the dying penalty is imposed in Texas: Though 12% of the state’s residents are black, 45% of death row inmates are black.

“All we can continue to do is to not continue seeking the death penalty. That’s what I pledge to do, it’s the only thing in my power,” Gonzalez informed the Tribune. Gonzalez was elected to a second four-year time period because the Nueces County district legal professional in 2020.

But in late April, one in every of his workers inadvertently requested a brand new date out of behavior, Gonzalez mentioned. State District Judge Bobby Galvan obtained the request and set Oct. 5 because the date of Ramirez’s execution.

Two days later, when Gonzalez realized of the error, he tried to cancel the warrant, however Galvan denied the request.

In June, Galvan mentioned Gonzalez is “the captain of the ship,” and what his workers does is on him. “I’ve really thought about this a lot,” Galvan mentioned. “I respect y’all’s opinion on this, but I’m not going to withdraw the warrant.”

Both the Texas legal professional common’s workplace and Castro’s household requested Galvan to transfer forward with the execution.

As a final effort, Gonzalez and Kretzer, Ramirez’s legal professional, tried to withdraw the warrant of execution in the District Court of Nueces County final week. On Sunday, the native court docket denied the movement.

One day later, seven members on the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted in opposition to commuting Ramirez’s dying sentence, exhausting his authorized choices to keep away from capital punishment.

“While perhaps D.A. Gonzalez should have more quickly informed his staff as to his position that capital punishment is unethical, a new day is dawning in America where elected district attorneys can stand up to execution errors extrapolated from a prior generation,” mentioned Kretzer.

Kretzer informed the Tribune that he didn’t anticipate any new appeals or different authorized filings forward of Ramirez’s execution scheduled for Wednesday.