Prisoner wants pastor's hands on him at execution

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On Wednesday, Texas plans to execute John Ramirez for the 2004 execution and robbery of a convenience store clerk successful Corpus Christi. The prisoner's past petition to the authorities has been to fto his pastor clasp connected to him arsenic helium dies.

It's a petition the Texas situation strategy has rejected. Ramirez has argued the determination violates his spiritual rights, but the courts person truthful acold sided with the state.

"[The Texas Department of Criminal Justice] has a compelling involvement successful maintaining an orderly, safe, and effectual process erstwhile carrying retired an irrevocable, and emotionally charged, procedure," U.S. District Judge David Hittner ruled past week.

The justice added that TDCJ "will accommodate Ramirez's spiritual beliefs by giving Ramirez entree to his pastor connected the time of execution and allowing him to basal adjacent during the execution."

Ramirez, 37, was convicted of superior execution successful 2008 and sentenced to dice for the stabbing decease of Pablo Castro. In his ruling past week, Hittner emphasized that Ramirez had stabbed Castro 29 times during a robbery spree to get cause wealth with 2 women. Castro had $1.25 connected him.

Ramirez has faced execution doubly earlier successful 2017 and 2020. Both times, his executions were canceled - owed to an lawyer swap and the coronavirus, respectively. Castro's son, Aaron, told KRIS 6 News successful Corpus Christi precocious that the continued delays were unnecessary and it was Ramirez's "time to go."

"Honestly, if helium wants a clergyman to bless him earlier he's sent off, by each means, spell ahead. That doesn't impact maine 1 bit," Aaron Castro, who was 14 erstwhile his begetter was murdered, said to KRIS. "What affects maine is wherefore this process continues to get delayed clip and clip again."

When Ramirez's execution was again acceptable earlier this year, helium focused his ineligible conflict connected having his pastor adjacent him arsenic helium dies. TDCJ's existent execution protocol allows for prisoners' spiritual advisers to beryllium successful the decease chamber, but lasting successful the country "due to information concerns," according to an email from the agency's wide counsel included successful the tribunal record.

"I recognize that I volition beryllium capable to basal successful the aforesaid country with John during his execution, but I volition not beryllium capable to physically interaction him," Dana Moore, the pastor astatine Second Baptist Church successful Corpus Christi, wrote successful an affidavit filed successful tribunal past month. "I request to beryllium successful carnal interaction with John Ramirez during the astir stressful and hard clip of his beingness successful bid to springiness him comfort."

For years, chaplains employed by TDCJ would often beryllium successful the country during executions, praying and resting a manus connected the prisoner's leg. But the bureau lone had Christian and Muslim advisers connected staff.

In 2019, erstwhile a Buddhist captive was told his advisor would not beryllium allowed successful the country with him arsenic helium was injected with a lethal dose of pentobarbital, helium argued it was spiritual discrimination. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed, halting the March 2019 execution and mounting into question a yearslong back-and-forth implicit Texas' execution protocols.

Days later, TDCJ opted to adjacent the playing tract by banning chaplains of immoderate religion wrong the decease chamber, including its ain staff. Spiritual advisers could alternatively basal successful the tiny adjacent rooms wherever friends and household of the execution victims and prisoners, arsenic good arsenic media, gather.

Then, successful June 2020, the nation's precocious tribunal stopped different Texas execution due to the fact that of the state's caller argumentation connected chaplains. The condemned antheral argued it violated his spiritual freedoms, and the justices ordered little courts to find "whether superior information problems would effect if a captive facing execution is permitted to take the spiritual advisor the captive wishes to person successful his contiguous beingness during the execution."

This April, TDCJ again revised its execution policy - allowing those connected decease enactment to person their idiosyncratic spiritual advisers successful the country with them arsenic they are executed, provided the advisers archetypal are verified, walk a inheritance cheque and implicit a authorities orientation. But dissimilar the TDCJ chaplains, spiritual advisers from extracurricular the bureau are not allowed to interaction the prisoners arsenic they die.

Ramirez's attorney, Seth Kretzer, likened the argumentation to a "spiritual 'gag order'" successful tribunal filings. The Texas Attorney General's Office countered that the existent argumentation "accommodates [Ramirez's] spiritual needs by allowing his pastor to sojourn and commune retired large with him for up to 2 hours instantly anterior to his execution."

The authorities besides argued that allowing Ramirez entree to rituals for his beliefs would unfastened the doorway for different religions arsenic well.

"Where a Protestant whitethorn petition his pastor's hands upon him arsenic helium passes, a Muslim whitethorn similar for his assemblage to beryllium washed and shrouded instantly upon his passing, and a Buddhist, that his assemblage beryllium untouched for 7 days aft his death," Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wren Morris wrote successful a tribunal filing past month.

Kretzer responded that specified acts didn't look "unduly burdensome."

"There seems to beryllium a thread of spiritual hostility passim the State's shifting positions," helium said successful his tribunal filing.

The national territory tribunal and the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals person some declined to halt Ramirez's execution implicit the issue. On Tuesday afternoon, Kretzer filed an entreaty with the U.S. Supreme Court.

Without tribunal intervention, Ramirez's execution is scheduled to statesman aft 6 p.m. Wednesday successful Huntsville. Aside from Ramirez's pastor, a TDCJ spokesperson said Tuesday day helium did not yet cognize if determination were immoderate different witnesses expected for either Ramirez oregon Castro.

Texas has executed 2 different men truthful acold this year, the lone authorities to bash truthful successful 2021, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The national authorities executed 3 men successful January, earlier President Joe Biden took office. Another six men are acceptable to beryllium executed successful Texas this year, with different man's decease scheduled for March.

This communicative comes from our ABC13 partners astatine The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media enactment that informs Texans - and engages with them - astir nationalist policy, politics, authorities and statewide issues.

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