After Richard Ramirez was found guilty of thirteen counts of murder, five counts of attempted murder, eleven sexual assault counts, and fourteen burglary charges, he was sentenced to death (“Richard Ramirez: Biography.”). Should he have been? I believe that instead of being sentenced to death, Richard Ramirez should be sent to a mental institution, where he can get help with his mental issues. Ramirez did not have an easy childhood, and this is the cause and what led to his later crimes. Richard was brought up in an environment where abuse was not out of the ordinary. His mother worked in a boot factory while pregnant with Richard. This exposed her to many chemicals which caused Richard to develop multiple health issues such as epilepsy (Raga). He also sustained multiple head injuries as a …show more content…
When Ramirez was only twelve years old, his cousin Miguel returned from the Vietnam War. Miguel showed Richard images of women that Miguel had tortured, raped, and murdered while in Vietnam. Richard also witnessed his cousin Miguel shoot and kill Miguel's wife. Miguel was later found not guilty by reason of insanity. (“Richard Ramirez: Biography.”). His cousin Miguel also taught Richard lessons like how to be stealthy, and how to be effective. kill another human being (Sanchez). Richard Ramirez had no control over what happened around him, and a child can't take themselves out of that situation. Children that undergo things like abuse and neglect, such as Richard did, have higher probability rates of turning to a life of crime, so we need to consider this when we look at Ramirez’s sentence (“Does Childhood Trauma Lead To Criminal Behavior?”). We know that Richard Ramirez committed the acts and the evidence for those crimes is there, but Richard Ramirez did not have a guilty mind. He grew up around murder and this affected his mind, and actions for the rest of his