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Texas executes man convicted in 2011 murder of Arlington pastor

Texas death row inmate to be executed Wednesday for 2011 murder of Arlington pastor
Texas death row inmate to be executed Wednesday for 2011 murder of Arlington pastor 01:43

A Texas man convicted of murdering an Arlington pastor was put to death on Wednesday evening.

Steven Lawayne Nelson, 37, was sentenced to death in 2012, a year after he was found guilty of fatally beating and suffocating NorthPointe Baptist Church Pastor Clint Dobson.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville carried out the execution.  

"After years of legal battles, Steven Nelson was punished for his heinous crimes and justice has finally been served," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. "My heart is with the family and friends of Pastor Clint Dobson, as well as the loved ones of every victim who suffered at the hands of this monster. Ensuring that Texas law is upheld, and capital sentences are carried out is a somber responsibility. Victims deserve justice and criminals who commit heinous crimes such as this must be punished."

This marked the first execution in Texas in 2025 and the second in the U.S. There are three other executions scheduled this year in Texas.  

On March 3, 2011, Dobson was found at the church bound and suffocated with a plastic bag, with blunt force trauma to his head, face, back, shoulder, arms and hands, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Another church employee, Judy Elliott, had massive head trauma but was alive.

Dobson died at the scene and Elliott was in critical condition.

In his last statement, Nelson said: "I will always love you no matter, that our love is uncontrollable there is no definition and no felling. I'm thankful and grateful. It is what it is. Always live for me and enjoy life. Give Monkey a hug for me. Know I am not scared, it's cold s--- in here. But I'm at peace, I'm ready to be at home. Let's ride Warden."  

The 2011 murder of North Texas pastor Clint Dobson

Arlington police said they were called to the church after a friend of an employee arrived to find a locked door. Nelson was taken into police custody after a brief standoff at an apartment complex less than a mile away from the church. 

Robbery was suspected to be the motive behind the attack, according to police. Several items were reported stolen from the church as well as Dobson and Elliott. 

During his testimony, Nelson admitted he and two friends planned to "hit a lick" and rob anyone they found.

Prosecutors asked for the death penalty. Jurors had the option of sentencing Nelson to life in prison without parole, but ultimately gave him the death sentence.

Nelson's attorneys appealed on claims of bad legal representation at his trial and sentencing, saying the lawyers did little to challenge the alibis of the other men or present mitigating evidence of a troubled childhood in Oklahoma and Texas. 

Trial evidence showed Nelson's fingerprints and pieces of his broken belt at the crime scene, drops of the victim's blood on his sneakers and surveillance video showing him driving Elliott's car and using her credit cards. Investigators also said the two men Nelson blamed for the attack had alibis: Phone records placed one of them 30 miles away, and phone records and a sign-in sheet placed the other man in a chemistry class.

Death sentence appeals denied 

Nelson's appeals have been denied by state and federal courts, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied a stay of execution on Jan. 28. Nelson's attorneys this week asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and halt his execution, to give them more time to challenge his conviction.

While awaiting trial, Nelson was indicted in the killing of another jail inmate. He was never tried on that charge after his guilty verdict and death sentence in Dobson's slaying. 

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