Nationwide — Steven Lawayne Nelson, a Texas death row inmate, was recently executed for the 2011 murder of Rev. Clint Dobson. Nelson, 37, was put to death by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas.According to WLBT, in his final moments before his execution, Nelson said, “It is what it is.”
“I’m not scared. I’m at peace,” Nelson added. “Let’s ride, Warden.”
His wife, Helene Noa Dubois, whom he recently married while he was in prison, watched through a window. As the lethal injection began, he whispered “Let me go to sleep” and called out “Love” before gasping and falling still. He was pronounced dead 24 minutes later.
Nelson was convicted of killing Rev. Clint Dobson, 28, who was beaten, strangled, and suffocated inside NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington. The church secretary, Judy Elliott, was also severely beaten but survived.
Nelson consistently claimed that he had only served as a lookout during the robbery, while two other men committed the murder. Despite his claims, evidence such as his fingerprints, his belt, bloodstains on his shoes, and surveillance footage linked him to the crime scene.
His appeals were denied at both state and federal levels, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene just hours before his execution.
Nelson had a troubled past with a criminal history dating back to childhood. While awaiting trial, he was also indicted for the killing of another inmate but was never tried for that charge.
Meanwhile, the victims’ families chose to focus on memories of their loved ones rather than Nelson’s actions.
“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 said in a statement a few days earlier than Nelson’s execution.
Nelson’s execution was the second in the U.S. this year and the first in Texas since October 2024. He is one of four inmates scheduled for execution in Texas by the end of April.