Another murdering, raping Bill Clinton immigrant meets his fate for crimes
against Americans.

A Texas man who admitted he kidnapped, sexually assaulted and fatally shot
an 18-year-old woman in 2001 was executed Wednesday evening � what would
have been the victim's 41st birthday.

Ramiro Gonzales, 41, was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. CDT following a
chemical injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the January
2001 killing of Bridget Townsend.

Gonzales was repeatedly apologetic to the victim's relatives in his last
statement from the execution chamber.

"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, just before the lethal dose
of the sedative pentobarbital began flowing.

As the drug took effect, he took seven breaths, then began sounds like
snores. Within less than a minute, all movement had stopped.

The remains of Bridget Townsend weren't found until October 2002, nearly
two years after she vanished, when Ramiro Gonzales, having received two
life sentences for kidnapping and raping another woman, led authorities to
the spot in Southwest Texas where he left her body.

Patricia Townsend, the victim's mother, told USA Today that June 26 is her
daughter's birthday. She would have turned 41 years old Wednesday.

"When they told me June 26, I started crying, crying and crying," she
said. "That's her birthday."

Gonzales, 41, was condemned for fatally shooting Townsend after stealing
drugs and money and kidnapping her in January 2001 from a home in Bandera
County, located northwest of San Antonio. He took her to his family's
ranch in neighboring Medina County, where he sexually assaulted her and
killed her.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined a defense plea to intervene about 1 and
1/2 hours before the execution was scheduled to start. The high court
rejected arguments by Gonzales' lawyers that he had taken responsibility
for what he did and that a prosecution expert witness now says he was
wrong in testifying that Gonzales would be a future danger to society, a
legal finding needed to impose a death sentence.

"He has earnestly devoted himself to self-improvement, contemplation, and
prayer, and has grown into a mature, peaceful, kind, loving, and deeply
religious adult. He acknowledges his responsibility for his crimes and has
sought to atone for them and to seek redemption through his actions,"
Gonzales' lawyers wrote Monday in their petition. A group of faith leaders
have also asked authorities to stop Gonzales' execution.

Gonzales' lawyers argued that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had
violated his constitutional rights by declining to review his claims that
a prosecution expert, psychiatrist Edward Gripon, wrongly asserted
Gonzales would be a future danger. After re-evaluating Gonzales in 2022,
Gripon said his prediction was wrong.

"I just want (Townsend's mother) to know how sorry I really am. I took
everything that was valuable from a mother," Gonzales, who was 18 years
old at the time of the killing, said in a video submitted as part of his
clemency request to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. "So, every day
it's a continual task to do everything that I can to feel that
responsibility for the life that I took."

"Unforgivable acts"
Bridget Townsend's brother wasn't persuaded. In various petitions and
posts on Change.org, David Townsend had criticized efforts to portray
Gonzales as anything other than a convicted murderer who committed
"unforgivable acts." He said the death sentence should be carried out.

"Our family seeks not revenge, but closure and a measure of peace after
years of heartache - a quest that is hindered, not helped, by decisions
that allow the perpetrator of our pain to remain in the public eye," David
Townsend wrote.

Earlier this month, a group of 11 evangelical leaders from Texas and
around the country asked the parole board and Gov. Greg Abbott to halt the
execution and grant clemency to Gonzalez, saying he now helps other death
row inmates through a faith-based program.

"We are writing as Christians calling for you to spare the life of another
Christian � Ramiro Gonzales. Ramiro has changed. Because he has changed,
we believe the circumstances surrounding him should change as well," they
wrote.

On Monday, the parole board voted 7-0 against commuting Gonzales' death
sentence to a lesser penalty. Members also rejected granting a six-month
reprieve.

Prosecutors described Gonzales as a sexual predator who told police he
ignored Townsend's pleas to spare her life. They argued that jurors
reached the right decision on a death sentence because he had a long
criminal history and showed no remorse.

"The State's punishment case was overwhelming," the Texas Attorney
General's Office said. "Even if Dr. Gripon's testimony were wiped from the
punishment slate, it would not have mattered."

Gonzales' execution marks the second this year in Texas. Convicted
murderer Ivan Cantu was executed in February. According to the Death
Penalty Information Center, Texas currently has 185 people on death row.

"She was a beautiful person who loved life and loved people," Patricia
Townsend told USA Today about her daughter. "Every time she was with
somebody she hadn't seen in a while, she had to hug 'em ... She didn't
deserve what she got."

She told USA Today before the execution that it would be a "joyful
occasion" for her and her family,

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-execution-ramiro-gonzales-birthday-
murder-victim-bridget-townsend/?intcid=CNR-02-0623