Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Prayers During Executions

Texas inmate John Henry Ramirez was recently granted the right to have a pastor pray over him during his execution. The Supreme Court reviewed and ruled on this matter on March 24. Before, Texas policy prohibited pastors and religious figures in the execution chamber with the inmate. 

Ramirez challenged that law after requesting that his pastor be able to touch him and audibly pray in the death chamber — a request which was initially denied. However, due to the Constitutional right to practice religion, a state could only create such a restriction if they could prove that allowing prayer would be a security issue. The state of Texas provided no reasoning, which paved the way for the Supreme Court to overturn Texas’s decision. 

Ramirez stabbed Corpus Christi store owner Pablo Castor on July 19, 2004, killing him with 29 separate stab wounds. According to a PBS report, Ramirez also stole $1.25 from Castor. John Ramirez was reportedly drunk and high on cocaine and was looking for money to fuel his addiction. During his trial in 2008, Ramirez admitted his guilt and has never since claimed innocence, court documents state.

Michael Hall from Texas Monthly wrote that Ramirez wanted to have his spiritual advisor, who he met in 2016, by his side. Dana Moore, a pastor at the Corpus Christi Second Baptist Church, served Ramirez during his wait on death row, according to Texas Monthly.

The Texas government had scheduled Ramirez to be executed on September 8, 2021, but the date was postponed as the Supreme Court reviewed his case. Since 1982, Texas had allowed state-employed pastors and priests to be in the death chamber and even touch the inmate’s leg as they were killed. 

In 2019, Texas backpedaled on its policy when it barred a Buddhist adviser from the death chamber. The Supreme Court then ruled that states could decide who can and cannot be in the chamber with the inmate. 

Ramirez’s case has been approved 8-1 by Supreme Court justices, spanning the political divide. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented, claiming that John Henry Ramirez was only attempting to “delay his execution.” After the court finished their decision, Ramirez and his attorney were “ecstatic”. The state of Texas is expected to rewrite its policy on prayer during executions, Ramirez’s lawyer Seth Kretzer stated.