He wanted his father’s killer to be executed. Until his wish was granted

John Henry Ramirez at the Allan B Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, in September 2021. Photograph: Michael Starghill/The Marshall Project

For almost 20 years, Aaron Castro was certain about what had to happen. John Ramirez had to die.

Ramirez’s execution was the only way to ensure he got the justice he deserved. And it was the only way that Castro, the son of Ramirez’s victim, could staunch his bleeding heart, soothe the constant anger boiling inside him, and achieve what had been eluding him for two decades: closure.