HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A Texas man is facing a scheduled execution Wednesday evening for fatally stabbing his girlfriend and her 8-year-old son nearly 13 years ago.
Cedric Ricks was sentenced to death for the May 2013 killings of 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez and her son Anthony Figueroa at their apartment in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro suburb of Bedford. Sanchez’s 12-year-old son Marcus Figueroa was also stabbed but survived.
Ricks, 51, was scheduled to receive a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital starting after 6 p.m. CDT at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
Prison officials described Ricks as quiet upon his midday arrival at the Huntsville Unit prison. He declined the opportunity to speak with his attorney and requested and was given a necklace with a cross that he had worn while on death row. Ricks, who is identified in prison records as Jewish, declined to have a spiritual adviser present.
Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a brief order rejecting Ricks’ final appeal to block the execution. No reason was given for the rejection.
His attorneys had argued in the final appeal that prosecutors violated Ricks’ constitutional rights by eliminating potential jurors at trial on the basis of race. Previous appeals by Ricks that alleged ineffective counsel and called for the suppression of evidence in the case have been denied.
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.
Ricks “viciously stabbed his girlfriend Roxann and her eight-year-old son Anthony to death,” the attorney general’s office said. “The public has a strong interest in enforcement of Ricks’ sentence.”
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Monday denied Ricks’ request to commute his death sentence or grant a 90-day reprieve.
Prosecutors said Ricks and Sanchez were arguing in their apartment when Sanchez’s two sons from a previous marriage – Anthony and Marcus Figueroa – tried to break up the fight.
Ricks grabbed a knife from the kitchen and began to stab Sanchez multiple times, according to court records.
Marcus Figueroa ran to his bedroom closet and tried to call police. After killing Anthony Figuerora, Ricks began stabbing Marcus Figueroa, according to authorities. Ricks did not injure his own then-9-month-old son Isaiah, according to court records. Ricks fled and was later arrested in Oklahoma.
During his 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 for the killings.
A day before the stabbings, Ricks had appeared in court after having been charged with assaulting Sanchez during a previous incident.
If the execution is carried out, Ricks would be the second person put to death this year in Texas and the sixth person in the country this year. Texas has historically held more executions than any other state.
Charles “Sonny” Burton, a 75-year-old inmate in Alabama, had been scheduled to be executed Thursday. But Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey recently commuted his death sentence, reducing it to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Burton had been sentenced to death for a fatal shooting during a 1991 robbery, even though he didn’t pull the trigger.
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Lozano reported from Houston. Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://x.com/juanlozano70
