A Texas man was executed on Wednesday evening after losing last-minute pleas for clemency that claimed he had “a complete transformation of character” by serving as a spiritual leader to other prisoners and was no longer a threat to the public.
Ramiro Gonzales, 41, has been on death row in Medina County, Texas, since 2006 when he was convicted of killing 18-year-old Bridget Townsend in 2001. Gonzales, who was also 18 at the time, kidnapped, raped, and then fatally shot Townsend after attempting to steal drugs from her boyfriend’s house.
