Murderer executed with lethal injection in Texas
The deed is over 20 years old. In Texas, Ramiro Gonzales was executed by lethal injection. The authorities of the US state announced that Gonzales was pronounced dead on a Wednesday at 18:50 local time. The 41-year-old was sentenced to death in 2006 for the rape and murder of an 18-year-old, Bridget Townsend.
Gonzales had kidnapped, raped, and shot Townsend, his dealer's girlfriend, in 2001. Before his execution, he addressed the victims' relatives: "I'm sorry. I have no words for the pain I have caused you." He continued, "I have never stopped praying for all of you. I have never stopped praying that you would forgive me and that I would have the opportunity to apologize one day."
Gonzales confessed to the crime while in custody for another rape charge. The court denied his request for a stay of execution on a Wednesday.
This was the second execution in Texas this year and the eighth in the US overall. A lethal injection in Idaho was halted in February due to the medical team's inability to access the execution chamber. In January, the first lethal injection using nitrogen gas was carried out in the US, sparking international criticism.
Last year, US authorities carried out 24 death sentences. The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 states. In six additional states, moratoriums are in place.
- Despite pleading for forgiveness, Ramiro Gonzales, who was sentenced to death in 2006 for the murder and rape of Bridget Townsend in Texas, was executed by lethal injection in the USA on a Wednesday at 18:50 local time, making it the second execution in Texas this year and the eighth in the USA overall.
- The death penalty, a controversial issue in politics, was recently carried out in the USA using nitrogen gas, sparking international criticism, while in six states in the USA, moratoriums are in place, and the death penalty has been abolished in 23 states.
- In Texas, Gonzales, who had previously confessed to the 2001 kidnapping, rape, and murder of Townsend, delivered an apology to the victim's relatives before his execution, stating that he had never stopped praying for their forgiveness.
