An individual on Death Row, convicted of murder, was executed and chose to offer an apology in his final statement.
Cedric Ricks, aged 51, was executed on Wednesday for the brutal killings of his girlfriend and her eight-year-old son in 2013. Ricks expressed deep remorse to the surviving older son who endured multiple stab wounds and witnessed the execution.
Ricks was declared deceased at 6:55 pm local time after receiving a lethal dose of pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas.
He was sentenced for the May 2013 murders of 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez and her son Anthony Figueroa at their residence in the Bedford area near Dallas-Fort Worth. Marcus Figueroa, Sanchez’s 12-year-old son, sustained 25 stab wounds and pretended to be dead to escape the attack.
Ricks repeatedly offered apologies to seven relatives of the victims present, especially addressing Marcus Figueroa. Marcus, the survivor of the assault, remained composed as he observed from a glass partition near Ricks’ gurney. Visible on Marcus Figueroa’s neck were scars believed to be from the attack.
“I want to express my apologies for the loss of Roxann and Anthony,” Ricks stated when prompted for a final statement by the warden. “I am grateful for this opportunity to speak to you all directly.”
He expressed a hope that one day the victims’ family members would find it in their hearts to forgive him. Ricks directly addressed Marcus Figueroa, expressing regret for taking his mother and brother away.
“I always kept you in my thoughts, and I regret taking your mother and brother from you. I am pained by what you had to endure, and I sincerely regret my actions. I wish you all peace and solace, but I am truly sorry, that is all I can say,” Ricks conveyed. He expressed a desire to seek forgiveness from the woman and her son in heaven, face to face.
“I wish you all find peace. I truly do. I am sorry,” he concluded before the injection was administered.
Witnesses also included Roxann Sanchez’s stepfather and brother, as well as Anthony Figueroa’s father, brother, and grandmother. None of them displayed any emotions in the witness area of the death chamber and opted not to speak to reporters afterward.
According to prosecutors, on the night of the murders, Ricks and Sanchez had a dispute in their apartment, during which the woman’s two sons from a previous marriage intervened. Ricks retrieved a knife from the kitchen and began attacking Sanchez. Marcus Figueroa sought refuge in his bedroom closet and tried to call for help. After killing Anthony Figueroa, Ricks proceeded to stab Marcus Figueroa, who feigned death until Ricks left the premises. Court records indicate that Ricks did not harm his then-nine-month-old son Isaiah. Ricks fled the scene but was later apprehended in Oklahoma.
On Wednesday, the final appeal by Ricks was turned down by the US Supreme Court without comment. His legal team contended that prosecutors violated Ricks’ constitutional rights by excluding potential jurors based on race during the jury selection process.
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