Victims of domestic violence need real justice
How much is a human life worth? Is any punishment ever enough?
What happened in a Bexar County courtroom this week should make us all angry. On Monday, a Bexar County court sentenced Brian Ramos to 35 years in prison, not nearly enough for the life he took away.
He brutally murdered his wife, Josephine “Josie” Serranos Ramos, on April 1, 2019, the day before their divorce would become final. Ramos had a violent past, and he shot his wife at least 10 times during an argument in a parking lot on the Southeast Side.
Ramos, 41, will only have to serve at least half of his prison term before becoming eligible for parole. At his sentencing, he received credit for 973 days already served. Josephine Ramos got no such lenience.
The mother of three was weeks from her 37th birthday. She worked as a pharmacy technician. She was loved by family and friends.
At the time of his arrest, Ramos had two previous assault charges.
Ramos’ 35-year prison sentence was part of an agreement reached between prosecutors and defense attorneys, according to Express-news reporter Elizabeth Zavala. Ramos entered a plea of no contest before Judge Jennifer Peña in the 290th District Court found him guilty.
The victim impact statements given by the couple’s children were heart-wrenching.
This is a story of justice not served that is infuriatingly too common.
According to the Expressnews’ domestic violence project, “Nowhere to Hide,” in 2016, 27 people in Bexar County were killed in family violence assaults, eight more than the year before. In 2017, the death toll climbed to 35. It hovered around that level for two years before shooting up to 43 during the pandemic year of 2020.
Bexar County had the lowest conviction rate for domestic violence assaults and the highest dismissal rate among Texas’ major urban counties from 2011 to 2020. This case counts as a conviction, but it feels like a defeat for justice.
It had been more than two years since Ramos’ children saw their father, and they bravely looked him in the eye and shared words no child should ever have to say, especially to their father.
“You made a (expletive deleted) bad decision. It’s not fair!” his daughter Jhazmyn Ramos said, sobbing. “You exist. You’re standing right there. My mom is ashes now.”
I cried as I heard her words and saw the deep pain on the face of her and her brother. Their devastating grief and anger were palpable. I couldn’t stop thinking of Josie’s young daughter’s words — and pain.
“I was 14. It’s not fair that I have to graduate and none of my parents are there,” she said sobbing. “And you can rot in jail and people can hurt you and you are going to finally know what that feels like. How you used to always tell me that actions have consequences, well now here you go.”
I thought of all the life Josephine Ramos didn’t get to live — of all the experiences her children and loved ones didn’t get with her. Birthdays. Graduations. Weddings. Life. All replaced with devastating loss, emptiness and anger.
I am angry. And, I still have many questions. Why did Brian Ramos murder her? What could have been done to prevent it? How are these kinds of plea deals waged when the punishment does not appear to fit the crime? Why didn’t he get life in prison? Are the children getting help?
And how many other victims of domestic violence will there be without justice being served?