Criminal Law
A Texas Death Row Inmate Seeks a Delay So He Can Donate a Kidney
A Texas death row inmate has asked the governor for a 30-day delay ahead of his scheduled Wednesday execution so he can make a kidney donation, a desire his attorneys say stems from his efforts to make amends for the murder that made him a condemned man.
Attorneys for Ramiro Gonzales, 39, who was sentenced to death for the 2001 murder of Bridget Townsend, asked for a reprieve in a June 29 letter to Gov. Greg Abbott, writing in part that Gonzales’ request to donate an organ to a stranger was “in keeping with his efforts to atone for his crimes.”
But the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which let Gonzales get evaluated for the organ donation, has objected to the efforts because of his impending execution date, his lawyers wrote.
