Texas executes inmate who filed religious dispute

Texas executed John Henry Ramirez, 38, on Wednesday as his pastor prayed over him and touched his chest. Ramirez won a Supreme Court case in March making that possible. The court ruled that refusing to accommodate Ramirez’s request for prayer and touch from his spiritual adviser at the time of his death violated his religious rights.

Why was Ramirez on death row? In 2004, Pablo Castro was taking out the trash behind a convenience store in Corpus Christi, Texas. Ramirez and two friends were on drugs when he found Castro, robbed him of $1.25, then stabbed him 29 times. While in prison, Ramirez converted to Christianity. Before he died, he told Castro’s family, “If this helps you, then I am glad.”

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Reichard and Jenny Rough’s report for the Legal Docket podcast on Ramirez’s Supreme Court case.