A Texas man was executed Wednesday for the murder of an 18-year-old woman who was raped, fatally shot and dumped in a field. He used his dying words to apologize to the young woman’s family.
Ramiro Gonzales, 41, was executed by lethal injection at 6:50 p.m. CT, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He became the second inmate put to death in the state this year and the eighth in the nation .
Gonzales was convicted of the rape and murder of 18-year-old Bridget Townsend , who was just getting her start in life, working full-time at a resort and eagerly waiting to hear back about a nursing school application.
“I can’t put into words the pain I have caused y’all, the hurt, what I took away that I cannot give back,” Gonzales said just before his final breaths, according to a transcript provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Bridget’s mother, Patricia Townsend, told USA TODAY that she would be among the witnesses to the execution and that it would be a “joyful occasion” for her family: “He doesn’t deserve mercy.”