Steven Lawayne Nelson, a 37-year-old Texas resident, was executed on Wednesday for the 2011 murder of Rev. Clint Dobson. The pastor was subjected to a brutal attack within the confines of NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington, where he was beaten, choked, and suffocated with a plastic bag.
In the moments leading up to his execution, Nelson was seen communicating with his wife, Helena Noa Dubois. Dubois, who had married Nelson just two weeks prior to his execution, held up a white service dog to a window that separated Nelson from the witnesses of his execution. Nelson was heard encouraging her to live her life to the fullest.
As he faced his imminent death, Nelson’s final words were, “I’m not scared. I’m at peace. Let’s ride, Warden,” uttered just before the lethal injection was administered. As the fatal dose of pentobarbital coursed through his body, Nelson was seen mouthing the word “love” twice before briefly convulsing. He was declared dead 24 minutes later.
While in prison awaiting trial, Nelson was also indicted for the murder of another inmate. However, this charge was never brought to trial.
This execution is the second to be carried out in the United States in 2025. The first execution of the year occurred last Friday in South Carolina, where Marion Bowman Jr. was given a lethal injection for a murder committed in 2001. Texas has three more executions scheduled to take place before the end of April.