By Andrew Chung

(Reuters). During Tuesday’s U.S. Supreme Court hearing, a Texas prisoner sentenced to death for a stabbing attack outside a convenience-store in 2004 was asked to request that his pastor be present during execution. The case was a trial of the extent to which states are required to comply with religious demands made by condemned inmates.

After lower courts failed to grant a stay on John Henry Ramirez’s execution, the Supreme Court issued an oral argument. This was in response to his September lethal injection. After years of debates over religious rights for death row prisoners, the Supreme Court issued a stay.

Ramirez’s case is supported by the administration of President Joe Biden and several religious liberty groups.

Texas claims that Ramirez’s religious-based claims were a transparent delay tactic in order to avoid execution. They are also compared in legal documents to “a game of ecclesiastical whack-a-mole.”

Ramirez’s 37-year-old lawyer has argued that the refusal of his Christian pastor to touch Ramirez or audibly pray for him as he passes away from the lethal injection is a violation of both federal and U.S. Constitution First Amendment guarantees of freedom of religion.

Ramirez’s pastor as well as Ramirez believe that laying on of hands and praying are important aspects to their faith. “Like many Christians,” they believed they would either go to heaven or hell when they die, according to court documents.

He also claimed that Texas’ policy of permitting spiritual advisors to attend executions but forbidding them laying hands upon condemned prisoners or praying publicly is not in keeping with the spirit of the law. These practices had been allowed during Texas executions.

Texas said that its protocol maintains security, integrity and solemnity of the process. The execution team is also able to spot signs of distress.

This case concerns religious protections of condemned prisoners under the First Amendment. It also involves a federal 2000 law that required officials to demonstrate a compelling need to deny religious-based requests from prisoners and use the most restrictive means.

Ramirez was sentenced in death to the killing of Pablo Castro. Castro was a father of nine and worked nights at the convenience-store located in Corpus Christi. Ramirez used his money to purchase drugs by stabbing Castro 29 times. He took $1.25.

Ramirez was a member for four years of the Second Baptist Church, Corpus Christi. He can’t attend the services, but he has attended the online meetings. Pastor Dana Moore frequently drives 300 miles (480km) north from Livingston in order to pray for Ramirez while he is locked up.

Ramirez was sued by the federal court in August. The federal judge, as well as the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to grant his request for a stay of execution.