A Texas man was executed Wednesday for the murder of an 18-year-old woman who was raped, fatally shot and dumped in a field. He used his dying words to apologize to the young woman’s family.
Ramiro Gonzales, 41, was executed by lethal injection at 6:50 p.m. CT, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He became the second inmate put to death in the state this year and the eighth in the nation.
Gonzales was convicted of the rape and murder of 18-year-old Bridget Townsend, who was just getting her start in life, working full-time at a resort and eagerly waiting to hear back about a nursing school application.
“I can’t put into words the pain I have caused y’all, the hurt, what I took away that I cannot give back,” Gonzales said just before his final breaths, according to a transcript provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Bridget’s mother, Patricia Townsend, told USA TODAY that she would be among the witnesses to the execution and that it would be a “joyful occasion” for her family: “He doesn’t deserve mercy.”
Here’s what to know about the execution, the case and the victim.
Ramiro Gonzales apologizes to family, tells warden ‘I’m ready’
The last words Ramiro Gonzales ever spoke were directed to the Townsend family, apologizing for the pain he caused them, according to a transcript provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Gonzales told the Townsends that he used the time he was given on Earth working to take responsibility for his actions in an attempt to “give it all back” and that he loved the Townsends.
“I never stopped praying for all of you. 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,” Gonzales said. “To all your family, I’m sorry.”
He also thanked his family and friends for the support they have given him over the years.
He ended his last words with: “God bless you all. Warden, I’m ready.”
The man put to death was a ‘different person’
Texas executed Gonzales for a crime he committed as an 18-year-old, Gonzales’ lawyers told USA TODAY after his death.
“The man put to death for those acts was a different person,” they said. Gonzales “floundered” as an abused and neglected child and teenager, never knowing the “tools, support, or guidance” that many take for granted. He made some “poor choices” and “sought escape through drugs” as a result of those circumstance, they said.
“And he caused irrevocable harms. He took the life of Bridget Townsend, and he attacked” another woman,” they said. “We grieve for these women and their families. So did he.”
“The Ramiro” who left the world was a “a deeply spiritual, generous, patient, and intentional person, full of remorse, someone whose driving force was love.”
“Ramiro knew he took something from this world he could never give back. He lived with that shame every day, and it shaped the person he worked so hard to become,” according to the statement. “If this country’s legal system was intended to encourage rehabilitation, he would be an exemplar. Ramiro grew. Ramiro changed. May we all strive to do the same.”
Bridget Townsend murdered, remains abandoned
Bridget Townsend was spending the night at her boyfriend Joe Leal’s house the night Ramiro Gonzales came knocking. Leal dealt drugs and Gonzales went to his house to steal cocaine, finding Bridget there alone.
After Gonzales came in and stole some cash, Bridget started to call Leal. That’s when Gonzales overpowered her, tied her up and drove her to his grandfather’s ranch, where he raped and shot her before dumping her body in a field, according to court records.
When Leal arrived home later that night, Bridget’s truck, purse and keys were their usual spots but he couldn’t find her anywhere and called police.
For nearly two years, no one but Gonzales knew what happened to Bridget. One day while he was serving a life sentence for the rape and kidnapping of another woman, Gonzales decided to confess to killing Bridget, leading authorities to her remains in a field in Bandera, a small town 40 miles northwest of San Antonio.
Bridget’s mom rejects apology, excuses
Patricia Townsend told USA TODAY that Gonzales’ childhood “should not have anything to do with it.”
“I know a lot of people that had a hard childhood,” she said on Saturday, four days ahead of the execution. “He made his choice.”
Gonzales has reached out to Bridget’s family over the years to convey his “profound remorse,” apologies that her family has rejected.
“She was a beautiful person who loved life and loved people,” Townsend said. “She didn’t deserve what she got.”
She said she found some comfort when she learned that Gonzales was set to leave the world the same day Bridget came into it.
“When they told me June 26, I started crying, crying and crying,” she said. “That’s her birthday.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ramiro Gonzales executed on birthday of Texas teen he raped and killed
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