Texas man gets execution delay over pastor’s touch request

By JUAN A. LOZANO and MICHAEL GRACZYK
Associated Press

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas death row inmate has won a reprieve from execution for killing a convenience store worker during a 2004 robbery that garnered $1.25. The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday evening blocked the lethal injection of John Henry Ramirez after his attorney argued the state was violating his religious freedom by not letting his pastor lay hands on him at the time of his lethal injection. Ramirez is condemned for fatally stabbing 46-year-old Pablo Castro, who worked at a Corpus Christi convenience store.  The request by Ramirez is the latest clash between death row inmates and prison officials in Texas and other states over the presence of spiritual advisers in the death chamber.