On July 19, 2004, 20-year-old John Henry Ramirez (June 29, 1984 – October 5, 2022),[1] a former United States Marine, accompanied by two female acquaintances, murdered 46-year-old convenience store worker Pablo Castro outside a Times Market in Corpus Christi, Texas.

[5] Ramirez's female acquaintances, Angela Rodriguez and Christina Chavez, were also convicted for their roles in the murder.

In 2021, Ramirez filed suit to challenge the Texas execution protocol under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act ('RLUIPA') and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, seeking to have his minister be allowed to lay hands on his body and audibly pray during the execution process.

[7] The Supreme Court stayed Ramirez's execution shortly before it was scheduled to occur on September 8, 2021, and granted his petition for a writ of certiorari.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, stating that Texas's denial of Ramirez's request "likely violated a federal law".