By Andrew Chung
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Texas must grant a convicted murderer on death row his request to have his Christian pastor lay hands on him and audibly pray during his execution, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, bolstering the religious rights of condemned inmates.
The 8-1 ruling overturned a lower court’s decision against John Henry Ramirez, who appealed the state’s rejection of his request for pastoral touch and prayer while he dies from lethal injection. Ramirez was sentenced to death for a fatal 2004 stabbing outside a convenience store.
(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)
