Not Necessarily a Model Inmate: KRON 4 on the Death of Richard Ramirez at San Quentin, 2013

Name: Not Necessarily a Model Inmate: KRON 4 on the Death of Richard Ramirez at San Quentin, 2013
Uploaded: 2013-06-08T00:00:00Z
Duration: 1 min 41 s
Description: On the day Richard Ramirez died awaiting execution, a San Quentin lieutenant told KRON 4 that the Night Stalker was not necessarily a model inmate during his years on death row.

On the day Richard Ramirez died awaiting execution, a San Quentin lieutenant told KRON 4 that the Night Stalker was not necessarily a model inmate during his years on death row.

Subject: Ricardo Leyva Munoz Ramirez
Recorded: about June 7, 2013
Runtime: 1:41

Content warning: A prison spokesman refers to Ramirez exposing himself to a guard; no graphic detail.

The Interview

This is not an interview with Richard Ramirez, who is not heard. It is a short KRON 4 news report from the San Francisco Bay Area, made on the day Ramirez died at Marin General Hospital while awaiting execution. Reporter Terisa Estacio describes his death and his years at San Quentin, and Lieutenant Sam Robinson of San Quentin State Prison speaks on camera about his conduct as an inmate. Ramirez is seen only in silent file footage from his murder trial.

Historical Context

Between 1984 and 1985 Ramirez carried out a series of murders, rapes and burglaries in Los Angeles and later the San Francisco area, and became known as "the Night Stalker". He was captured in East Los Angeles in August 1985. On September 20, 1989, a jury convicted him of 13 murders and 30 other felonies, and on November 7, 1989, he was sentenced to death. He spent the rest of his life on San Quentin's death row, where on October 3, 1996, he married. He died on June 7, 2013, aged 53, of complications of B-cell lymphoma, before any execution date was set.

Circumstances

The report was made on the day of his death or the day after (the reporter says he died "Friday morning"; June 7, 2013, was a Friday) and posted by KRON 4 on June 8, 2013. Estacio reports from outside Marin General Hospital, citing state prison officials for the time of death and for word that an autopsy was under way.

What the Recording Covers

Robinson says Ramirez "wasn't necessarily, um, a model inmate" and, asked whether he exposed himself to a guard, says there were "many occasions", about half a dozen. The reporter, citing Robinson, says Ramirez was often disciplined for breaking prison rules, was moved to the Adjustment Center with few privileges, read and watched local television, and had a physical confrontation with another inmate. Robinson explains that San Quentin inmates receive local stations but not cable. The report ends by saying that in his last years Ramirez refused to go out to the yard and refused visitors, including his wife, whom he married at San Quentin in 1996.

What Makes the Recording Significant

It records, on the day of his death, how San Quentin's own representative described Ramirez's behavior during more than two decades on death row.

Important Caveats

Ramirez does not speak. The account of his conduct in prison is the prison spokesman's, as reported by KRON 4; no prison record has been checked. The time of death ("9:10") is the station's report from prison officials. "Almost half of his life" on death row is roughly accurate (about 23 and a half of his 53 years). His wife is shown but not named in the report; do not add details about her beyond what the report says.

Terisa Estacio: State prison officials tell KRON 4 News that Richard Ramirez died here at Marin General Hospital Friday morning at 9:10 of natural causes. An autopsy is underway to reveal the official cause of death. In the meantime, KRON 4 is learning much more about Ramirez's life here at San Quentin, where he spent almost half of his life being sentenced to death row. This is Lieutenant Sam Robinson.

Lt. Sam Robinson: Well, he wasn't necessarily, um, a model inmate while he was here.

Terisa Estacio: This is file video of Ramirez during his murder trial. Robinson says that Ramirez was often facing disciplinary measures because he repeatedly broke prison rules.

Terisa Estacio: He exposed himself, actually, to a guard?

Lt. Sam Robinson: Oh yes, he had many occasions where that was the, where that was the case.

Terisa Estacio: A dozen? Two dozen?

Lt. Sam Robinson: Uh, I believe somewhere around a half a dozen.

Terisa Estacio: Because of his offenses, he was put in a different section called the Adjustment Center, where he had few privileges. Robinson says often Ramirez read and watched a few television stations.

Lt. Sam Robinson: Uh, our inmates inside the facility here at San Quentin, they don't receive cable TV. So anything that's local, such as KRON or, um, any of the other local affiliates here in the Bay Area, they are able to see, receive those stations inside the walls.

Terisa Estacio: Ramirez also got into a physical confrontation with another inmate several years ago. Robinson says in the past few years, Ramirez refused to go out into the yard and socialize. He also refused to see visitors, including his wife, shown here, who he married at San Quentin in 1996. [01:29 to 01:41: no speech in either machine source, apart from a stray caption "for" at 01:40; clip ends.] ---