The 6th Execution of 2026
Cedric Ricks, a Texas
man, was put to death on March 11, 2026 for fatally stabbing his girlfriend and her 8-year-old son in 2013,
apologizing profusely to her older son who survived with multiple stab wounds
and witnessed the execution, reported The Associated Press
Ricks,
51, was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. CDT following a lethal dose of the
sedative pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
He was
condemned for the May 2013 killings of 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez and her son
Anthony Figueroa at their apartment in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of
Bedford. Sanchez’s 12-year-old son, Marcus Figueroa, was stabbed 25 times and
feigned death in order to survive.
Ricks
apologized repeatedly to seven relatives of his victims who looked on,
particularly Marcus Figueroa. The attack survivor showed no emotion, watching
through a glass window just steps from where Ricks was strapped to a gurney. On
the back of Marcus Figueroa’s neck, visible above his shirt collar and below
his hair, were several scars apparently from the attack.
“I want to
say that I’m sorry for taking Roxann and Anthony from y’all,” Ricks said when
asked by the warden if he had a final statement. “I’m glad to be able to speak
to tell y’all that face to face.”
He said he
hoped one day that his victims’ relatives would be able to find it in their
hearts to forgive him. He also addressed Marcus Figueroa, saying he hated that
he took his mother and brother away.
“I always
thought about you and I’m sorry that I took your mom and your brother away. I
hate that you had to experience that, I just can’t imagine, but I’m truly sorry
for what I’ve done, and I wish y’all peace and joy as much as you can but I’m
sorry, that’s all I can say,” Ricks said. His voice cracking and tear forming
in his eye, he added that he hoped to find the woman and her son in heaven and
“tell them I’m sorry face to face.”
“I hope
y’all go in peace. I really do. I’m sorry,” he concluded before the injection
began.
As the
drug took effect, he took 19 quick breaths, then made 10 snoring sounds,
followed seconds later by some intermittent gurgles. Then all movement and
sounds stopped, and he was pronounced dead 30 minutes after the injection had
begun.
Among the
other witnesses were Roxann Sanchez’s stepfather and brother, and Anthony
Figueroa’s father, brother and grandmother. None of them showed any emotion in
the death chamber witness area and declined to speak with reporters afterward.
The night
of the killings, prosecutors said, Ricks and Sanchez had been arguing in their
apartment when the woman’s two sons from a previous marriage tried to break up
the fight. Ricks grabbed a knife from the kitchen and began to stab Sanchez
multiple times, court records showed.
Marcus
Figueroa ran to his bedroom closet and tried to call police. After killing
Anthony Figueroa, Ricks began stabbing Marcus Figueroa, who played dead until
his attacker left the apartment, authorities said. Ricks did not harm his own
then-9-month-old son Isaiah, according to court records. Ricks fled and was
later arrested in Oklahoma.
At his
ensuing capital murder trial, Ricks testified that he had anger issues and had
been defending himself against the two boys after they had come to their
mother’s defense.
“Explaining
my rage, I was upset. Things happen. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.
I wish I could bring them back, like, right now,” said Ricks, who also
apologized at the time for the killings.
A day
before the stabbings, Ricks had appeared in court after having been charged
with assaulting Sanchez during a previous incident.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Ricks’ final appeal without comment.
His attorneys had argued that prosecutors violated Ricks’ constitutional rights
by eliminating potential jurors on the basis of race while selecting the trial
panel.
The Texas
Attorney General’s Office said court records show the prosecution’s jury
selection decisions were “race neutral” and lower courts have already concluded
that prosecutors’ actions were not discriminatory.
And
earlier this week, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Ricks’ request
to commute his death sentence or grant a 90-day reprieve.
Ricks was
the second person put to death this year in Texas and the sixth in the country.
Texas has historically held more executions than any other state.
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