A death row inmate scheduled for execution in Texas this week says he is a different person than he was when he raped and murdered an 18-year-old woman in 2001.
Ramiro Gonzalez, 41, is scheduled to be executed Wednesday for the death of 18-year-old Bridget Townsend, who was kidnapped, raped and shot to death on Jan. 14, 2001, at a ranch in Bandera, a small town in Texas Hill Country about 40 miles northwest of San Antonio.
If executed, Gonzalez would be the second person executed in Texas this year and the eighth on death row nationwide.
Gonzalez’s execution was originally scheduled for July 13, 2022, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted it two days before the scheduled date, citing arguments by state experts that he had given false testimony at his trial.
Now that his execution is back on schedule, Gonzalez has filed a series of appeals and clemency petitions, asking Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute his sentence or extend his sentence. Abbott, who calls the death penalty “Texas justice,” has overseen 73 executions and granted one clemency since taking office in 2015.
As his execution date approaches, USA Today is looking back at Gonzalez’s crimes and what led him to the horrific death of a young woman.
His “deep descent into addiction” began after the death of his beloved aunt
In a clemency video submitted to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on June 4, clinical psychologist Kate Porterfield said Gonzalez was physically and sexually abused throughout his childhood, often by relatives, and was the epitome of an “unwanted child.”
Gonzales was abandoned at birth by his mother and grew up in the care of his grandparents in a small cinderblock home near Bandera, where his grandfather worked as a ranch hand. Both grandparents worked long hours, so Gonzales was often left alone and unsupervised, according to the video.
Porterfield said her aunt, Loretta Gonzalez, quickly became one of Gonzalez’s only sources of comfort in a “highly traumatic” environment that involved some of the most damaging and stressful events a child could experience.
“My aunt Loretta is the reason I was able to do well in school,” Gonzalez said in the video. “She’s the reason I did my homework. She’s the reason I played sports.”
Things began to go wrong for Gonzalez in May 1998 when Loretta was the victim of a drunk driver.
“Loretta’s death plunged Ramiro into inconsolable grief,” the clemency petition states. “He was depressed, completely unprepared to deal with the loss and turned to drugs to numb the pain,” the petition states.
A “deep descent into addiction” contributed to what happened.
What began as self-medication quickly evolved over the next few years into a full-blown drug and alcohol addiction, with Ramiro Gonzalez “stealing and forging checks” to fund his addiction. He also began running errands for drug dealer Joe Leal to obtain drugs and pay off his debts, according to the pardon petition.
Gonzalez’s “deepening drug addiction” led him to kidnap, rape and murder Townsend, who was dating Leal, on Jan. 14, 2001. According to court documents, Gonzalez went to Leal’s house to get drugs, but Townsend was the only one there.
After Gonzalez entered the home and stole the cash, Townsend began calling Leal, who then allegedly “pushed her down, dragged her into a bedroom, and bound her hands and feet with nylon rope he found in a closet,” according to court documents. He then took her to his grandfather’s ranch, where he raped and shot her and dumped her body, according to court documents.
Townsend’s disappearance remained unsolved for nearly two years, until Gonzalez confessed to the murder and authorities discovered her body. At the time, Gonzalez was serving a life sentence for the rape and kidnapping of another woman, a crime that occurred more than a year after Townsend was killed.
“At the time, Ramiro was suffering from a severe addiction rooted in prenatal exposure to drugs, as well as the trauma and neglect he experienced as a child,” the clemency petition states.
The state and the victim’s family reject Ramiro Gonzalez’s explanation
Gonzalez’s claims have failed to impress Texas officials or Townsend’s still-grieving family.
“Despite pleading guilty in both cases, Gonzalez continued to deny responsibility for these despicable crimes, claiming that he enjoyed committing one crime and that the other crime was consensual,” William Stevens, former director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, wrote in court documents.
Bridget Townsend’s mother, Patricia Townsend, told USA Today that Gonzalez’s execution would be a “celebratory event” for her and her family, who have waited so long for justice.
“She was a beautiful person who loved life and loved people,” she said. “He doesn’t deserve mercy… and his childhood has nothing to do with it. I know a lot of people who had difficult childhoods. He shouldn’t be pitied for that. He made his own choice.”
Ramiro Gonzalez says he underwent a spiritual transformation
While he was in jail awaiting trial for Townsend’s murder, Gonzalez said his life changed the night his pastor gave him a Bible.
“I stayed up all night reading through the Bible, and after a few days, everything in me wanted to reach out to God,” Gonzalez said in the pardon video. “The conviction was so overwhelming that I got on my knees and prayed that God would forgive me for everything.”
Gonzalez said he immediately realized he “had to follow God.”
“I just know that I had to give my life over to God and I needed His help to get through it,” Gonzalez says in the video.
He said serving God has made him the person he always wanted to be, “walking the right path and working to make the lives of those around me better.”
“From the men in his faith-based groups, to those who hear him preach, to the corrections officers who stop by his cell seeking comfort, to his friends and pen pals, Ramiro is a shining example of the saving power of God’s grace and the ripple effect that power has across the world,” the clemency petition states. “Ramiro helps lead people to God, and through God’s power, people are transformed.”
In 2022, Gonzalez offered to donate his kidney to “make amends for the life he took,” but the Texas Department of Criminal Justice denied the request, citing an “uncertain timeline” that could compromise the execution of his death sentence, according to court documents.
Gonzalez apologizes to Bridget Townsend’s family
In a 2022 letter to Townsend’s family, Gonzalez said his apology “cannot even bring you peace and healing.”
“However, I feel I should let you know how sorry I am for the pain and suffering my actions have caused you,” Gonzalez wrote in his clemency petition. “I am truly sorry that I took away something that meant so much to you. I know there is nothing I can do or say to make this situation better.”
In a recent interview with The Marshall Project, Gonzalez said he plans to further apologize to Townsend’s family, who choose to be present at his death, as his final words before he dies.
“I’m praying that God will give me the words and I hope they’ll be sincere enough to at least accept the apology,” Gonzalez told The Marshall Project. “I don’t know if seeing me die will give them any closure, but I hope it’s enough for them to start their journey.”
Contributor: Amanda Lee Myers
