Criminal Justice 3/14/24 Richard Ramirez Richard Ramirez is a serial killer known as “The Night Stalker”. He was convicted of killing 14 people and is suspected of killing many more. He was born in El Paso, Texas on February 29, 1960. He was born in Mexico City to Mercedes Ramirez and Julian Ramirez, the fifth of six children. Psychologist Michael Stone calls Ramirez a “pre-made” rather than a “genuinely born” psychopath. He argues that Ramirez’s schizoaffective disorder played a role in his disregard for his victims’ pain and his inability to be treated. Richard was said to have suffered several blows to the head at a young age; after a swing knocked him unconscious when he was five years old, he started having seizures. When Richard Ramirez …show more content…
He didn’t know that he had suddenly become the top story in almost every major daily newspaper and TV news program in California. When he couldn’t get in touch with his brother because he wasn’t at home, Ramirez drove back to Los Angeles on the early morning of the 31st of August. As he drove, he noticed a group of older Hispanic women calling him “el matador.” When he got to the store, one of the women pointed at him and said, “You’re El Matador!” Ramirez ran out of the store and fled in terror. He was caught after he was mugged and beaten by East Los Angeles residents after attempting to steal two …show more content…
The jury selection process was completed on July 22, 1988. One of the delays was that the juror was killed and rumors circulated that Ramirez was responsible for her death. The jury reached a unanimous verdict on September 20, 1989. The verdict was in favor of guilty on all 43 counts, including 13 of the murder charges, 5 of the attempted murder charges, 11 of the sexual assault charges and 14 of the burglary charges. Two weeks later, the same jury recommended the death sentence on 19 counts. Ramirez was convicted on November 7, 1989, and sentenced to death by gas chamber; he spent the remainder of his life in San Quentin Prison in California. The trial cost $1.8 million, which at the time made it the most expensive murder trial in the history of California until surpassed by the O.J Simpson case in 1994. While in jail, Ramirez married a fan but later divorced after news came out that he raped and killed a 9-year-old girl. Finally, in 2006, Ramirez's long-awaited appeal reached the California State Supreme Court, where it was denied. At the age of 53, Ramirez passed away on June 7, 2013, following nearly 24 years on death row due to complications stemming from his B-cell