Texas executes John Henry Ramirez, 38, who killed convenience store clerk, 46, in 2004 before robbing him of $1.25 – inmate had won Supreme Court religious freedom case to have his pastor lay hands on him as he was put to death

• John Henry Ramirez, 38, was executed Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas
• Ramirez stabbed Pablo Castro, 46, twenty-nine times in a drug-fueled robbery
• He had been on death row since 2008 over the 2004 robbery, in which he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs along with two other women 
• Ramirez sued prison officials in August 2021 for not letting his advisor pray over him as he was put to death
• The Supreme Court voted 8-1 in favor of Ramirez’s request, but Justice John Roberts said the plea ‘is but the latest iteration in an 18-year pattern of evasion’
• For Protestants, the laying of hands is a symbolic act in which a religious leader places their hands on a person to confer a spiritual blessing 

A Texas inmate at the center of a legal battle over religious rights of those facing execution in the United States was put to death on Wednesday for the murder of a convenience store clerk.

John Henry Ramirez was pronounced dead at 6.41pm local time in the state’s death chamber in Huntsville, where he planned to have his Christian pastor lay hands on him and audibly pray as he died by lethal injection.

Ramirez, 38, was sentenced to death for the fatal stabbing of Pablo Castro in Corpus Christi in 2004.   

Ramirez in his final words told the Castro family that he hoped his execution would help them find closure. 

‘I have regret and remorse, this is such a heinous act,’ Ramirez said, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. ‘I hope this finds you comfort, if this helps you then I am glad. I hope in some shape or form this helps you find closure.

‘To my wife, my friends, my son, grasshopper, Dana and homies, I love y’all. Just know that I fought a good fight, and I am ready to go. I am ready, Warden.’

No other details about Wednesday’s execution were released. 

John Henry Ramirez was pronounced dead at 641pm in the state’s death chamber in Huntsville, where he planned to have his Christian pastor lay hands on him and audibly pray as he died by lethal injection 

Ramirez, 38, was sentenced to death for the fatal stabbing of Pablo Castro in Corpus Christi in 2004. The store clerk would have turned 62-years-old, had he been still alive. Prior to his death in 2004, Castro had nine kids (pictured with one of them)

Castro was brutally murdered in 2004 while taking out the trash and getting in an altercation with one of the two women that Ramirez was with

The execution took place seven months after the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in Ramirez’s favor in his case against the state of Texas, which rejected his request for pastoral touch and prayer while he dies. The decision bolsters the religious rights of condemned inmates.

The Ramirez case centered on religious protections under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment and a 2000 federal law that requires officials to show a compelling interest to deny a prisoner’s religious-based request and to do so using the least restrictive means.

Texas defended its position by emphasizing its need to maintain security during the execution. 

Outsiders touching inmates in the execution chamber could inadvertently disrupt intravenous lines, and audible prayer could interfere with officials’ ability to monitor for signs of distress, the state said.

The Supreme Court (pictured) ruled in a 8-1 vote that Ramirez can have his pastor ‘pray over’ and touch him during his execution even though the state of Texas refused to consider the convict’s request

Ramirez was sentenced to death in 2008 for the murder of Castro, a father of nine who worked nights at a convenience store in the southern Texas city of Corpus Christi. 

Seeking money to buy drugs, Ramirez stabbed Castro 29 times and made off with $1.25 on July 19, 2004, prosecutors said.

Ramirez has been a member of the Second Baptist Church in Corpus Christi. Pastor Dana Moore has regularly driven about 300 miles (480 km) north to Livingston to pray with Ramirez in prison. 

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

Source: Read Full Article