Who is Ramiro Gonzales? Killer rapist on death row seeks month's reprieve to donate a kidney as PENANCE
Ramiro Gonzales, 39, was sentenced to death in the year 2006 for kidnapping, raping and killing an 18-year-old girl named Bridget Townsend in Texas. The death row inmate has now requested the governor for a 30-day reprieve so that he can donate a kidney before his execution 'to atone for his crimes,' according to his lawyers. As reported by CNN, Gonzales sent a letter to Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott on June 29 asking that his death be delayed for one month so that he can give his organ to either of two 'preliminarily compatible' recipients.
According to the letter, one is a cancer survivor in Washington state who has spent four years on dialysis and has the same blood type as the convicted killer. "Whether or not Mr Gonzales could donate to me, I cannot emphasize enough what a precious gift you would be giving someone if you allowed Mr Gonzales the opportunity to donate his kidney," recipient Judith Frith wrote in a note shared with the cable news outlet.
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Gonzales initially sought to donate his kidney to a member of a Jewish congregation in Maryland whom he'd learned about in correspondence with its faith leader. But his rare blood type meant he was not a match. Since then, he has sought to make an altruistic kidney donation, that is, to donate his kidney without a known or intended recipient. The state criminal justice department's health care policy, however, deemed him ineligible. Altruistic kidney donation is not allowed by the agency as it does not guarantee coverage of the costs and it could introduce an "uncertain timeline, thereby possibly interfering with the court-ordered execution date".
"He still wants to save a life," Cantor Michael Zoosman, the ordained Jewish clergyman whose letters with Gonzales first catalyzed the inmate's desire to donate a kidney, told CNN. "And Texas is denying him that". Gonzales' lawyers, Thea Posel and Raoul Schonemann said in a statement "Nothing in the Board's disappointing decision today precludes the Governor from exercising this power to unilaterally grant a 30-day reprieve to allow this process to move forward,".
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The death row inmate's lawyers claimed that Gonzales suffered from sexual and substance abuse and kidnapped Townsend in 2001 from her boyfriend's house where he had gone to steal drugs. He bound her hands and feet and then sexually assaulted her before shooting her and then burying her in a ditch. He later admitted to his crime in 2003 while serving his time in jail for another crime. His confession led to the girl's decomposed body. Because of his rare blood group type B, most donor patients have been waiting for years for a compatible organ. He is currently scheduled to be put to death on Wednesday, July 13.