Catholic Masses

  • Search for Mass Times
  • Catholic Faith Articles
    • News Briefs
    • Catholic Church
    • Vatican News
    • Catholic Gift Ideas
  • Online Masses
    • Daily Catholic Mass Online
      • Daily TV Mass from Toronto
      • EWTN Daily Mass
      • CTVN Daily Mass
      • Sunday Mass by the Passionists
      • Daily Mass (In Spanish)
  • Pray with Us
Home Test page Texas death row inmate sues to have pastor’s touch in execution chamber

Texas death row inmate sues to have pastor’s touch in execution chamber

Pastor Dana Moore of Second Baptist Church Corpus Christi / Second Baptist Church Corpus Christi/YouTube

Washington D.C., Aug 13, 2021 / 14:21 pm (CNA).

A man scheduled to be executed in early September is suing the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to have his pastor lay hands on him as he is dying.

John Henry Ramirez, 37, is set to be executed on Sept. 8, at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville. He seeks to have Pastor Dana Moore of Second Baptist Church in Corpus Christi present with him as he receives lethal injection, and laying hands on him as he is dying.

The “laying on of hands” is a Christian practice of blessing someone. Moore has been Ramirez’s spiritual advisor for the last five years.

While Texas did not permit any spiritual advisors in the execution chamber for a two-year period from April 2019 until April 2021, it does now allow for personal religious ministers to accompany the inmate inside the chamber.

However, the state criminal justice department in June told Ramirez’s lawyers that direct personal contact by his pastor would not be permitted inside the chamber.

Ramirez’s attorneys filed a lawsuit on Aug.12 in federal district court, claiming that the state is violating his First Amendment rights in denying him the “direct, personal contact” of his pastor. The laying on of hands is a “a long-held and practiced tradition in Christianity in general and in the Protestant belief system Mr. Ramirez adheres to,” the complaint states.

The state has not “indicated” it will even allow Moore to be present with Ramirez at his death, the lawsuit claims.

Ramirez was sentenced to death in 2008 for the murder of 45-year-old convenience store clerk Pablo Castro in 2004. Ramirez and two women attempted to rob Castro for money to buy drugs. Ramirez stabbed Castro 29 times. Castro had $1.25 on him, which the three took.

The women were arrested the night of Castro’s murder, and both were sent to prison in 2006. One of the women, Christina Chavez, was convicted of three counts of aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 25 years in jail. The other, Angela Rodriguez, was convicted of two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of murder. Rodriguez was sentenced to life in prison but will be eligible for parole in 2035.

Ramirez was arrested nearly four years later, in February 2008. He was found near Brownsville, Texas, near the border between the United States and Mexico.

This is the third time Ramirez has attempted to delay his execution after previously attempting to have it expedited. In June 2011, Ramirez said he wanted to waive his appeals, saying, in part, that he did not want to waste taxpayer money keeping him on death row, and that he wanted to bring justice to the Castro family “in a speedy fashion.”

In September of that year, Ramirez changed his mind after discovering he has a half sister.

Six years later, in 2017, Ramirez successfully requested a stay of execution, after asking for a different lawyer. In 2020, his execution was once again delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

His lawsuit says that the state’s denial of personal contact by his pastor “places a substantial burden” on his religious practice. He says the state is denying it to him during the “‘spiritually charged final moments of life,’ leading up to and including his execution, when religious observance and spiritual guidance are most critical.”

“No compelling security interest justifies the burden on his religious exercise,” the lawsuit states.

The state of Texas in 2019 banned all prison chaplains from its execution chamber, following a Supreme Court order that halted the execution of a man requesting a Buddhist minister in the chamber. Only state employees are allowed to be with the condemned in the execution chamber, and Texas did not have a Buddhist chaplain on staff.

However, rather than hire a Buddhist chaplain, Texas decided to bar the practice of allowing chaplains in the execution chamber altogether. Murphy’s execution has not been rescheduled and he remains on death row.

In April 2021, the state issued a revised policy allowing ministers inside the execution chamber. In January, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled favorably toward a Catholic death row inmate seeking the presence of a priest in the chamber. 


If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!

Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.


Catholic World Report

Aug 13, 2021CatholicMasses

Share this post:

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on PinterestShare on EmailShare on LinkedIn
Review: Short stories that show the wasteland of contemporary American Catholic life, but also a little hopeEl Paso bishop requires vaccination for Catholic church employees, ministers
You Might Also Like
 
Cardinal Bo: ‘Merciless killings’ turning Burma into ‘21st-century Calvary’
 
Pope Francis will stay longer in hospital, says Vatican

You must be logged in to post a comment. - Log in

CatholicMasses
1 year ago Catholic News, death penalty, Execution, News Briefs, Religous freedom, Texas, USCatholic Church, Catholic News, death penalty, Execution, News Briefs, Religous freedom, Texas, US13
Find Mass Schedules Near You

CatholicMasses.org allows you to search for Catholic Churches to find Mass times near you!

This unique feature helps while traveling.  Now along with Mass times, schedules and Catholic news you can also watch daily Catholic Mass online with your friends.

Try our free resource to “find Roman Catholic Churches near me” today!

St Alphonsus Liguori praised the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as the best way to Honor God.  Join us as we celebrate Mass daily from various parishes around the world, online and offline, and please visit daily to pray with us as we recite the Rosary, offer daily scripture, readings, devotions and Catholic focused news. We bring you daily Catholic Mass from various parishes around the world and Catholic news.

Today’s Mass
Daily Mass Videos
  • Catholic Chicago
  • CatholicTVNetwork Daily Mass
  • Daily Mass from Toronto Canada
  • ETWN Daily Mass
  • Eucaristia en Vivo – Spanish Daily Mass
  • General Catholic Videos
  • Live video from Lourdes France
  • Masses from the Ascension Priests
  • Misa Hoy (en español)
  • National Shrine
  • News from a Catholic Perspective
  • News from CFN
  • Pope Francis and Vatican News
  • Rosary
  • Sunday Mass by the Passionists
What’s New
  • Sr Mary-Joy: From farm to firefighting to pony centre
  • State Ballot Initiatives on Abortion (Aug. 13)
  • Rejecting the “low-bar Thomism” of revisionist moral theologians
  • Globe Theatre’s new spin on ‘non-binary’ Joan of Arc detracts from her heroism and dignity, Catholics say
  • US Bishops Offer Sympathy and Support After Albuquerque Murders
About

Providing up to date online access to information exclusively about Catholicism.

Visit our site map | Privacy Policy | About Us Page.

Streaming Catholic Mass Online

Watch Catholic Mass Online Today.

Find Churches Nearby
Email-Subscription

Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest news and event postings.

2019 © Catholic Mass Search - Search Catholic Churches and find Mass times while traveling.
Privacy Policy | About Us Page.
Truemag theme by StrictThemes
Change Location
Find awesome listings near you!