UPDATE:
Ramiro Gonzales was not able to donate his kidneys. I highly encourage you to watch this video about his life, reformation, and what he has been doing for other Death Row inmates.
You can see and hear him yourself.
He brings light to other inmates and could continue to do so. That is a positive for the system and the inmates.
He is scheduled for execution on June 26, 2024.
Consider signing the TexasDefender/ActionNetwork petition to change his sentence so he can continue to serve his peers, instead of execution. My understanding is that he is asking for life, instead of execution in order to do so.
Religious or not, I appreciate what he is doing and support his efforts. He is a positive we shouldn’t exterminate.
I care about him, his peers, the system, hope, and change. I hope you will take the time to give this some thought too.
This is what the petition says:
To: The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
From: [Your Name]
Dear Governor Abbott, Chairman Gutiérrez, and Members of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles:
I am saddened that the State of Texas once again plans to execute Ramiro Gonzales for a murder he committed just a few months after his 18th birthday. Today a profoundly changed person after spending nearly two decades on death row, Ramiro is a living and breathing example of our ability to grow and heal.
Ramiro recently was chosen as a coordinator of the faith-based program on death row, and his ministry has a positive impact on many people. Ramiro lives a life of contemplation and prayer, having overcome childhood trauma that one expert described as “off the charts.” His jury never had the opportunity to hear about the abuse and neglect he experienced as a young child. Today the State’s expert from trial says he was wrong in his assessment that Ramiro posed a future danger to society, and he has described Ramiro as a “a significantly different person both mentally and emotionally."
Despite his transformation over the last eighteen years and deep remorse for his actions as a troubled teenager, Ramiro now faces execution on June 26, 2024.
Ramiro has so much left to offer the world. I respectfully request the Board recommend clemency for Ramiro and for Governor Abbott to grant it, or in the alternative, that Ramiro be granted a 180-day reprieve.