Cedric Ricks, 51, was put to death Wednesday evening in Huntsville, Texas, after state officials administered a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital at the state penitentiary, the Associated Press reported. Ricks was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. CDT, following the execution procedure carried out in the death chamber.
Authorities said Ricks was convicted for the May 2013 killings of Roxann Sanchez and her 8-year-old son, Anthony Figueroa, at an apartment in Bedford, a community in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area. The state’s case described the attack as occurring after prosecutors said Ricks and Sanchez had been arguing in their apartment, when Sanchez’s sons from a prior relationship tried to break up the fight.
AP reported that Marcus Figueroa survived the attack by feigning death after being stabbed 25 times, and that he watched the execution through a glass window just steps from where Ricks was strapped to a gurney. In a description of what witnesses saw, the report said visible scars were on the back of Marcus Figueroa’s neck, above his shirt collar and below his hair.
In his final statement before the injection began, Ricks apologized to the relatives of his victims who looked on, AP said, with particular focus on Marcus Figueroa. When asked by the warden for a final statement, Ricks said, “I want to say that I’m sorry for taking Roxann and Anthony from y’all,” and he told the family he was glad to speak “tell y’all that face to face.” AP reported that he also said he hoped the relatives could find it in their hearts to forgive him, and he addressed Marcus Figueroa directly by saying he hated that he took the boy’s mother and brother away.
Ricks made additional remarks as the execution unfolded, AP said, including a statement that his voice “crack[ed]” and that tears formed in his eye. He said he wished to find Sanchez and Anthony “in heaven” and “tell them I’m sorry face to face,” and he concluded, “I hope y’all go in peace. I really do. I’m sorry,” before the drug took effect.
AP reported that as pentobarbital took effect, Ricks took 19 quick breaths, then made 10 snoring sounds, followed by intermittent gurgles. The report said that all movement and sounds stopped, and he was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after the injection began.
The execution witnesses included Sanchez’s stepfather and brother and Figueroa’s father, brother and grandmother, AP said. The report said none of the witnesses showed emotion in the death chamber witness area and none declined to speak with reporters afterward.
The case record described the immediate events leading to the killings: after Sanchez’s sons tried to break up the argument, prosecutors said Ricks grabbed a knife from the kitchen and began stabbing Sanchez. AP said Marcus then ran to a bedroom closet, tried to call police, and after killing Anthony, Ricks began stabbing Marcus again, who authorities said played dead until the attacker left the apartment. AP also reported that court records said Ricks did not harm his then-9-month-old son, Isaiah, and that Ricks fled and was arrested in Oklahoma.
At Ricks’ capital murder trial, AP reported that he testified and said he had anger issues and believed he was defending himself against the boys after they came to their mother’s defense. The report said he also testified a day before the stabbings he appeared in court after being charged with assaulting Sanchez during a previous incident.
AP said that on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Ricks’ final appeal without comment. His attorneys argued that prosecutors violated his constitutional rights by eliminating potential jurors based on race when selecting the trial panel. The Texas Attorney General’s Office said court records show the prosecution’s jury selection decisions were “race neutral,” and that lower courts had already concluded the actions were not discriminatory. AP also reported that earlier this week, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Ricks’ request to commute his death sentence or grant a 90-day reprieve.
Texas executed the second person in the state this year, AP reported, and the sixth person nationally. The report also noted that Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey commuted the death sentence of Charles “Sonny” Burton, which had been scheduled for Thursday, to life in prison without the possibility of parole.