The last words of a death row inmate convicted of killing a pastor have been disclosed. In 2011, Steven Lawayne Nelson was found guilty of murdering 28-year-old Clint Dobson, a pastor at NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas.
Not only was the pastor slain, but Dobson’s secretary, Judy Elliot, was severely beaten, although she survived the attack. Nelson contended that he did not murder Dobson, claiming he was merely acting as a lookout while his accomplices robbed the church on that tragic day.
During his testimony, Nelson stated that Dobson and Elliot were already lying on the floor when he entered the church, and they were still breathing at that time. Despite his claims of innocence, Nelson was sentenced to death and was executed by lethal injection yesterday (February 5).
Before his execution, Nelson expressed his final thoughts, advising his wife, whom he married while in prison, to “enjoy life” and remarked, “It is what it is.” He also stated, “I’m not scared, I’m at peace,” according to the Associated Press. His final words were directed to the warden: “Let’s ride, Warden.”
The 37-year-old was pronounced dead at 6:50 pm CST, 24 minutes after the lethal injection was given.
In a statement prior to his execution, Nelson maintained he was not “the monster they say I am.” Addressing Judy Elliot, Dobson’s secretary who was injured, Nelson told NewsNation, “I will tell you that I’d like to apologize for my actions in the role that I played—even though I wasn’t the person who assaulted her. It still hurts to this day that I couldn’t do nothing at the time, you know?”
Unlike many death row inmates, Nelson did not receive a special final meal request.
The absence of a last meal request for Nelson traces back to the actions of Lawrence Russell Brewer, another death row inmate. Before his execution in 2011, Brewer requested an extravagant final meal, including two chicken fried steaks, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, fried okra, a pound of barbecue, three fajitas, a meat lover’s pizza, a pint of ice cream, and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts.
However, Brewer did not consume any part of the meal. Consequently, Texas decided to abolish special meal requests for death row inmates, opting instead to serve whatever is available in the cafeteria. “It is extremely inappropriate to give a person sentenced to death such a privilege,” stated Senator John Whitmire, chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, at the time of the decision.