Texas inmate faces execution for fatal 2001 shooting while his lawyers say he no longer poses a danger

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas man who admitted to kidnapping, sexually assaulting and fatally shooting his drug dealer's 18-year-old girlfriend was scheduled to be executed Wednesday.

Bridget Townsend's remains were not found until October 2002, two years after his disappearancewhen Ramiro Gonzales, after receiving two life sentences for kidnapping and raping another woman, led authorities to the location in southwest Texas where he left her body.

His execution by lethal injection was scheduled for Wednesday evening at Huntsville State Penitentiary.

Gonzales, 41, was convicted of shooting and killing Townsend after stealing drugs and money and kidnapping her in January 2001 from a home in Bandera County, northwest of San Antonio. He took her to the family ranch in neighboring Medina County, where he sexually assaulted and killed her.

Gonzales' lawyers have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his execution, arguing that he has taken responsibility for what he did and that a prosecution expert witness now says he was wrong to testify that Gonzales would pose a future danger to society, a legal finding required to impose a death sentence.

“He devoted himself seriously to self-improvement, contemplation and prayer, and became a mature, peaceful, kind, loving and deeply religious adult. He acknowledges responsibility for his crimes and has sought to atone for them and seek redemption through his actions,” Gonzales’ attorneys wrote in their petition Monday. A group of religious leaders also called on authorities to stop Gonzales' execution.

Gonzales' lawyers argue that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals violated his constitutional rights by refusing to review his claims that a prosecutorial expert, psychiatrist Edward Gripon, falsely claimed that Gonzales would pose a future danger . After re-evaluating Gonzales in 2022, Gripon said his prediction was wrong.

“I just want (Townsend’s mother) to know how truly sorry I am. I took everything of value from a mother,” Gonzales, who was 18 at the time of the killing, said in a video submitted as part of his clemency application to the Board of Pardons and Parole of Texas “So every day it's a continuing task to do everything I can to feel that responsibility for the life that I've taken.”

Bridget Townsend's brother isn't convinced. In various petitions and Change.org posts, David Townsend has criticized efforts to portray Gonzales as anything other than a convicted murderer who committed “unforgivable acts.” He said the death sentence should be carried out.

“Our family is not seeking revenge, but seeking closure and some peace after years of grief – a quest that is hindered, but not helped, by decisions that allow the perpetrator of our pain to remain in the public eye,” wrote David Townsend.

Earlier this month, a group of 11 evangelical leaders from Texas and across the country asked the parole board and Gov. Greg Abbott to halt the execution and grant clemency to Gonzalez, saying that he now helps others on death row through a faith-based program.

“We are writing to you as Christians to ask you to spare the life of another Christian – Ramiro Gonzales. Ramiro has changed. Because he has changed, we believe the circumstances surrounding him must also change,” they wrote.

On Monday, the parole board voted 7-0 against commuting Gonzales' death sentence to a lesser sentence. The deputies also refused to grant a six-month reprieve.

Prosecutors portrayed Gonzales as a sexual predator who told police he ignored Townsend's pleas to spare his life. They argued that jurors made the right decision on the death sentence because Gonzales had a long criminal history and showed no remorse.

“The penalties imposed by the state were overwhelming,” the Texas Attorney General’s Office said. “Even if Dr. Gripon’s testimony had been removed from the sanctions list, it would not have mattered.”

If Gonzales' execution takes place, it will be the second this year in Texas.

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