A Texas man convicted of abducting, sexually assaulting, and killing an 18-year-old woman in 2001 was executed via chemical injection on Wednesday.
Ramiro Gonzales, 41, was just 18 years old when he kidnapped Bridget Townsend from her Bandera County home before taking her to his family’s ranch in Medina County, where he sexually assaulted and shot her, according to the Associated Press.
Townsend’s body was not found until October 2002, nearly two years after her murder. Gonzales led authorities to her remains after he was handed two life sentences for abduction and raping another woman, the outlet reported.
Gonzales’s execution was protested by his lawyers and evangelical leaders, who argued that the killer had found religion and was sufficiently sorry.
“He has earnestly devoted himself to self-improvement, contemplation, and prayer and has grown into a mature, peaceful, kind, loving, and deeply religious adult,” his attorneys wrote in a Monday statement following their unsuccessful bid to the Supreme Court to stop the lethal injection. “He acknowledges his responsibility for his crimes and has sought to atone for them and to seek redemption through his actions.”
A group of 11 Texas evangelical leaders had also asked the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to consider clemency, claiming that Gonzales was helping other death row inmates through faith.
Gonzales submitted a video with his clemency request, admitting responsibility and guilt for killing Townsend.
“I just want [Townsend’s mother] to know how sorry I really am. I took everything that was valuable from a mother,” he said. “So, every day it’s a continual task to do everything that I can to feel that responsibility for the life that I took.”
The parole board unanimously voted against canceling or delaying the killer’s sentence on Monday, with the Texas Attorney General’s Office saying that the prosecution’s case for this punishment was “overwhelming.”
Right before he was injected with the sedative pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Gonzales again apologized to Townsend’s family.
“I can’t put into words the pain I have caused y’all, the hurt, what I took away that I cannot give back. I hope this apology is enough,” he said.
“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,” he added.
He was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m., according to the AP.
Townsend’s brother, David, said the family was finally able to witness “justice being served” after seeing the execution.
“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,” he told reporters.
David added that while Gonzales’s execution “provides us a little bit of peace,” they “are not joyous.”
“We are not happy. This is a very, very sad day for everyone all the way around,” the grieving brother noted.
Townsend would have turned 41 on Wednesday, the day her killer met his end.
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