Tonight, September 23, 2026, the State of Texas is scheduled to execute Ker’Sean Ramey for his role in the murders of Sam Roberts, Tiffani Peacock, and Celso Lopez during a botched robbery in 2005 in Edna, Jackson County, Texas. Ramey’s codefendant, LeJames Norman, was put to death one week ago for the same crime.
Ramey’s trial was marred by serious constitutional violations, including the systematic exclusion of all potential Black jurors, the State’s presentation of false testimony, and, above all, the abysmal performance of his trial attorney—a full-time dentist and part-time lawyer—who failed to conduct his own investigation or provide witnesses to rebut the State’s case.
Due to his lawyer’s deficiencies, jurors did not hear critical mitigating evidence that could have persuaded them to spare Ramey’s life. Instead, they were presented with judicially discredited testimony from the State’s expert on future dangerousness. Jurors deliberated for only 14 minutes before sentencing Ramey to death.
Ramey was prosecuted in a county with a documented history of excluding jurors based on race. At his trial, the State systematically excluded all potential Black jurors, resulting in a nearly all-white jury (11 white, 1 Hispanic) judging a Black defendant.
Compounding these failures, the Jackson County Criminal District Attorney’s Office has withheld documents that could be crucial to the claims that Ramey has raised in his appeals. Last week, the Texas Attorney General ordered the release of these documents, but Ramey’s legal team still has not received them and will need time to fully inspect and analyze the information they contain.
On Monday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted not to recommend clemency for Ramey. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals also denied relief, including Ramey’s motion for a stay of execution, without reviewing the merits of his claims.
Ramey has asked the Supreme Court of the United States to step in. His petition seeks emergency relief from the Court based on (1) the State’s violation of his right to equal protection under Batson v. Kentucky, by its exclusion of jurors based on race; and (2) the constitutionally ineffective performance of his trial counsel, particularly during the punishment phase of his trial.
Counsel for Ramey also have asked Texas Governor Greg Abbott to use his independent authority to issue a 30-day reprieve to give them time to receive the files from the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office, as directed by the Texas Attorney General, and to analyze the information they contain.
If the execution proceeds, Ramey would be the sixth person executed in Texas this year and the fifth consecutive Black man. Nationwide, 27 people have been put to death in 2026; more than half (15) of those executions occurred in Florida.
Texas has scheduled three more executions in 2026; all are men of color.
Additional information about Ker’Sean Ramey
Ker’Sean Ramey’s rights to due process and a fair trial were violated at the outset when the State systematically excluded all potential Black jurors—with no meaningful opposition from his defense attorney. This resulted in a nearly all-white jury (11 white, 1 Hispanic) judging a Black defendant in a region of Texas known for discriminatory practices.
Ramey was represented by a man who was fundamentally unqualified and unprepared to handle a capital case; his failures pervaded every phase of the trial and initial appeals. Not only had this attorney never tried a capital case – he spent his days as a practicing dentist and only ran a solo law practice on the side in the evenings.
Trial counsel conducted virtually no independent investigation and did not retain a ballistics or forensic expert, even though no physical evidence ever tied Ramey to the crime scene or the weapons. The case rested on testimony from an admitted co-defendant and jailhouse informants with undisclosed deals. The murder weapons were subsequently lost by the State.
The defense attorney did not call any witnesses during the guilt phase. He also failed to investigate or present much of the readily available mitigating evidence of Ramey’s childhood abuse, poverty, cognitive impairment, and IQ of 81, calling just two witnesses in the crucial penalty phase of the trial.
On the other side, the State knowingly presented false testimony and suppressed exculpatory and impeachment evidence, including undisclosed plea deals, witnesses’ criminal histories, and a delayed plea agreement that limited cross-examination. During the penalty phase, prosecutors called an expert witness who provided testimony about future dangerousness that courts have since found to be scientifically unreliable.
Against this backdrop, the jury deliberated less than two hours before returning a guilty verdict and only 14 minutes before sentencing Ramey to death.
Trial counsel’s failures across all phases deprived Ramey of his Sixth Amendment right to effective representation. These violations were compounded when this same unqualified attorney handled the direct appeal and failed to adequately raise available claims. Just a few years after Ramey’s trial, his attorney was suspended from the practice of law after a Texas court found he had committed professional misconduct by neglecting another client’s case.