A Texas death row inmate convicted of a brutal double murder more than a decade ago delivered emotional final words before his execution — apologizing directly to the surviving victim who witnessed the killings as a child.
Cedric Ricks, 51, was executed Wednesday evening at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville after receiving a lethal injection of the sedative pentobarbital. He was sentenced to death for the 2013 stabbing deaths of his girlfriend, Roxann Sanchez, and her 8-year-old son, Anthony Figueroa, inside their apartment in Bedford, a suburb in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.
The execution drew particular attention because Marcus Figueroa, Sanchez’s older son and the lone survivor of the attack, was present in the witness room as the sentence was carried out.
As reported in coverage referenced by the New York Post and Associated Press, Marcus — who survived after being stabbed 25 times during the attack — watched silently through a glass partition as Ricks delivered his final statement.
Speaking to several relatives of the victims who attended the execution, Ricks repeatedly apologized for the violence he carried out.
“I want to say that I’m sorry for taking Roxann and Anthony from y’all,” he said, addressing the family. He then spoke directly to Marcus, telling him he regretted taking his mother and brother away and that he often thought about the trauma the boy endured.
Witnesses described the now-grown survivor as showing little emotion while observing the proceedings.
The crime that led to Ricks’ conviction occurred in May 2013, when prosecutors said an argument between Ricks and Sanchez escalated inside their apartment. Court records indicate that the woman’s two sons attempted to intervene during the dispute.
Authorities said Ricks grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Sanchez repeatedly before turning the weapon on her children.
Anthony, the younger boy, was killed in the attack. Marcus suffered multiple stab wounds but survived by pretending to be dead, according to investigators.
Ricks fled the scene after the attack and was later captured in Oklahoma.
During his trial, he acknowledged having severe anger issues and expressed regret for the killings, though he also claimed he believed he was defending himself during the confrontation.
In the years that followed, his legal team filed several appeals challenging aspects of the trial, including claims related to jury selection. Those appeals were ultimately rejected, including a final appeal denied by the U.S. Supreme Courtshortly before the execution.
After Ricks delivered his last words, the lethal injection began. Officials said he was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m., about 30 minutes after the process started.
The execution marked Texas’ second execution of the year and one of several carried out nationwide, as debates over capital punishment continue across the United States.
