HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas man was put to death Wednesday evening for fatally stabbing his girlfriend and her 8-year-old son in 2013, apologizing profusely to her older son who survived with multiple stab wounds and witnessed the execution.
Cedric Ricks, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. CDT following a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
He was condemned for the May 2013 killings of 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez and her son Anthony Figueroa at their apartment in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Bedford. Sanchez’s 12-year-old son, Marcus Figueroa, was stabbed 25 times and feigned death in order to survive.
Ricks apologized repeatedly to seven relatives of his victims who looked on, particularly Marcus Figueroa. The attack survivor showed no emotion, watching through a glass window just steps from where Ricks was strapped to a gurney. Ricks expressed his sorrow, saying, “I’m sorry for taking Roxann and Anthony from y’all.”
He conveyed a deep sense of remorse, wishing he could meet the victims in heaven to apologize to them face to face. As the lethal injection took effect, he exhibited signs of struggle before becoming silent.
Marcus Figueroa, who is now in his twenties, witnessed the execution but remained stoic. Ricks's actions stemmed from a confrontation that night in their apartment, during which he fatally stabbed Sanchez and Anthony before seriously injuring Marcus. Ricks’s defense claimed it was an episode of rage, but the court found him guilty of capital murder. His execution was preceded by a failed appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and a denial of clemency by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Ricks was the second person executed in Texas this year and part of a long history of executions carried out by the state.
Cedric Ricks, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. CDT following a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
He was condemned for the May 2013 killings of 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez and her son Anthony Figueroa at their apartment in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Bedford. Sanchez’s 12-year-old son, Marcus Figueroa, was stabbed 25 times and feigned death in order to survive.
Ricks apologized repeatedly to seven relatives of his victims who looked on, particularly Marcus Figueroa. The attack survivor showed no emotion, watching through a glass window just steps from where Ricks was strapped to a gurney. Ricks expressed his sorrow, saying, “I’m sorry for taking Roxann and Anthony from y’all.”
He conveyed a deep sense of remorse, wishing he could meet the victims in heaven to apologize to them face to face. As the lethal injection took effect, he exhibited signs of struggle before becoming silent.
Marcus Figueroa, who is now in his twenties, witnessed the execution but remained stoic. Ricks's actions stemmed from a confrontation that night in their apartment, during which he fatally stabbed Sanchez and Anthony before seriously injuring Marcus. Ricks’s defense claimed it was an episode of rage, but the court found him guilty of capital murder. His execution was preceded by a failed appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and a denial of clemency by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Ricks was the second person executed in Texas this year and part of a long history of executions carried out by the state.
