The state of Texas executed Steven Nelson on Wednesday night for the 2011 murder of Rev. Clint Dobson, but unlike in other states, he did not get to order a final meal.
Nelson's spiritual adviser, Rev. Jeff Hood was in attendance in his final moments, and revealed that it "took forever" for Nelson to be declared dead and that "He fought to the very end," USA Today reported, adding that with his last words, Nelson professed his love for his wife, who was in attendance.
"I will always love you no matter ... our love is uncontrollable. I'm at peace, I'm ready to be at home. Let's ride, Warden," Nelson said before his execution.
Nelson said "It is what it is," and that people should "enjoy life." The state then began to administer a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital to execute Nelson and he said "Let me sleep," according to the Associated Press.
Nelson, 37, was not allowed to request a final meal before being executed because of a stunt pulled by death row inmate Lawrence Russell Brewer in 2011. Brewer ordered a tremendous meal before his execution and then refused to eat it, KJAS reported. Brewer's uneaten final meal included a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, three fajitas, one pound of barbecue, half-loaf of white bread, meat lover's pizza, one pint of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts, and three root beers.
After the Brewer incident, Texas abolished providing death row inmates a final meal request before execution. In 2019, Texas stopped allowing a final written statement as well after John William King's statement: "Capital punishment: Them without the capital get the punishment," according to KJAS.
Nelson murdered Dobson, 28, in 2011 and severely beat a church secretary during a robbery. Nelson's fingerprints and parts of his broken belt were found at the crime scene. The victim's blood was also found on Nelson's shoes. Surveillance video showed Nelson using items stolen in the robbery, including credit cards and a car.
"As a family, we have chosen to take this day to focus on the great memories we have of Clint rather than giving time to his killer. Steven Nelson forever changed our lives, but he has never occupied our minds...We miss Clint every day. We miss his laughter and his wit, his advice and his love for us," Dobson's family wrote in a statement, according to the AP.
