A Texas man convicted of murdering a pastor was executed on Wednesday, February 5. Steven Lawayne Nelson, 37, had some poignant final words before facing his fate.
Nelson was sentenced for the 2011 murder of Rev. Clint Dobson, who was beaten, choked, and suffocated with a plastic bag inside NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington, according to the Associated Press.
In his last moments, he spoke with his wife, Helena Noa Dubois, who held a white service dog up to the window that separated them from witnesses.
He encouraged her to live life to the fullest. “It is what it is,” he expressed to her moments before his execution, a sentiment that came just two weeks after their marriage.
Nelson then shared his final words: “I’m not scared. I’m at peace. Let’s ride, Warden,” just before receiving a lethal injection.”
As the fatal dose of pentobarbital took effect, Nelson was seen mouthing the word “love” twice before briefly convulsing. He was pronounced dead 24 minutes later, as reported by the AP.
While incarcerated and awaiting trial, Nelson was indicted for the murder of another inmate, a charge for which he never faced trial. This marks the second execution carried out in the U.S. in 2025.
