The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied the petition of a Latino death row inmate who wanted to delay his execution to donate a kidney, a desire his attorneys say stems from his effort to make amends for the murder that convicted him.
However, there is still the possibility that the governor, Greg Abbott, authorizes the 30-day postponement to make the donation.
Ramiro Gonzales, 39, will otherwise receive the lethal injection on July 13 for fatally shooting Bridget Townsend, an 18-year-old whose remains were found nearly two years after she disappeared in 2001 in southwest Texas.
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His lawyers asked the Board of Pardons and Paroles for a 180-day postponement that was denied, they announced in a statement Monday.
On June 29, they asked the governor for 30 days of grace to help "someone who urgently needs a kidney transplant" and thus
"expiate their crimes
. "
Ramiro Gonzales.Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP
The attorneys allege that a transplant team at the University of Texas at Galveston determined that Gonzalez is an "excellent candidate" because of his unusual blood type, which could benefit someone struggling to find a compatible organ.
The donation could be completed in a month, according to the doctors.
At least two "preliminary compatible" patients have been identified.
The first is a cancer survivor in Bellingham, Washington, who has spent four years on dialysis "in hopes of a life-saving kidney transplant," the lawyers said in their letter to the governor, according to CNN.
The second person is Judy Frith.
"It seems almost impossible, but God moves in mysterious ways," the woman wrote in the letter to Abbott, "I cannot stress enough what a precious gift you would be giving someone if you allowed Gonzales to donate his kidney."
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Gonzales' lawsuit is rare, Robert Dunham, director of the Death Penalty Information Center, told The Associated Press.
His organization does not comment on capital punishment but criticizes how prisoners are executed.
"Skeptics will think this is simply an attempt to delay execution," he added, "but, if that were the case, I think you would see a lot of requests."
