Huntsville, Texas - Despite pleas for clemency and supporting testimony from the psychiatrist instrumental in his original conviction, Ramiro Gonzales was executed at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas Wednesday.

In 2006, Ramiro Gonzales was convicted and sentenced to death for the rape and murder of Bridget Townsend when they both were 18 years old.

Gonzales, now 41, was pronounced dead at 6:50 PM local time. He was executed via lethal injection.

"To the Townsend family, I'm sorry I can't articulate, 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 in his final statement.

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In January 2001, Gonzales kidnapped, raped and shot Townsend, who was the girlfriend of his drug dealer.

The case went unsolved for 18 months until Gonzales confessed to the crime while in custody in a separate rape case. He also told authorities where to find Townsend's remains.

Gonzales' attorney had appealed for a stay on his execution to the US Supreme Court, but it was rejected.

The psychiatrist whose testimony was crucial to the conviction revised his initial opinion in 2022, saying Gonzales "does not pose a threat of future danger to society."

The Texan also had a traumatic childhood, which features physical and sexual abuse.