ramirez was born on february 29, 1960 in el paso, texas. he was raised in los angeles, california. in 1996, ramirez married doreen lioy when he was in prison. ramirez died of lymphoma at marin general hospital in greenbrae, california on the morning of june 7, 2013. he was 53 years old. at the time of his death, ramirez had been on death row for more than 23 years, awaiting execution by the state of california.