Ker'Sean Ramey, 41, used his final words to thank fellow death row inmates for showing him 'what it means to be a man' before he was executed in Texas on Wednesday evening. He was put to death for a triple murder committed during an attempted burglary at a countryside property, just one week after his co-defendant met the same fate.
Execution details
Ramey was declared dead at 6:34pm local time after receiving a fatal injection at the state prison in Huntsville. He became the sixth individual executed this year in Texas, with three additional lethal injections planned in the state during the coming two months.
Inside the death chamber, a prison chaplain placed his left hand upon Ramey's right shoulder and delivered a short prayer before the warden enquired whether the condemned man wished to make any final statement. Ramey offered praise to God and expressed gratitude to friends, relatives and fellow death row prisoners whom he referred to as his brothers.
Final words and death
"To the brothers on Texas death row that grew up with me, that poured into me and showed what it means to be a man, because I came in young, and didn't understand what manhood was ... to you brothers ... I greatly appreciate you," he declared moments before the injection commenced.
As the fatal dose of the sedative pentobarbital started flowing, Ramey drew a deep breath, spluttered and began snoring. Following 10 loud snores and two that were barely audible, all movement stopped. A doctor declared Ramey dead 14 minutes after the injection started. His body was subsequently draped with a white sheet.
The 2005 murders
A jury had found Ramey guilty of capital murder and condemned him to death for the August 2005 killings of Samuel Roberts, 24, Tiffani Peacock, 18, and Celso Lopez, 38, at the residence they occupied in Edna, a small rural town some 100 miles (160 kilometres) southwest of Houston.
Ramey and LeJames Norman believed cocaine was stashed in the property and planned to steal it, according to court documents. The pair entered the dwelling armed, discovered no narcotics and fatally shot the three occupants, who lived directly opposite Norman, the records reveal.
Appeals and co-defendant
Hours before Wednesday's execution, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed Ramey's final appeal. His lawyers contended that jurors had never heard that Ramey endured physical abuse as a child and was raised in poverty. State prosecutors told the court the appeal was "meritless" and said the evidence demonstrated Ramey displayed "an escalating pattern of criminal behaviour."
Norman was put to death on September 16 at the Huntsville prison, where all Texas executions take place. He was apprehended about five months after the murders while attempting to re-enter the U.S. from Mexico, where he had escaped. He gave evidence at Ramey's trial in January 2007 that both men shot the victims.
Ramey's lawyers blamed the killings on Norman. Ramey's ex-girlfriend gave evidence that she was present when he hurled two handguns into a lake following the murders, and that he subsequently recounted his participation to her in detail. Lopez was struck by four bullets, including one to the back of the head; Peacock received two gunshot wounds to the head; and Roberts was hit five times in the chest, neck and head. Norman received the death penalty in December 2008 after admitting to capital murder.
