All Texas Prisoners Executed on Death Row (Jan–July 2025): Shocking Crimes & Final Words (US) –
As of July 7th, 2025, the state of Texas has carried out four executions in 2025. Each executed inmate was convicted of murder and all were executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville unit. Notably, Texas abolished special last meal requests in 2011. So, none of these inmates received a customized last meal.
They were served the same food as other prisoners. Below is the list of executed inmates in Texas in 2025 with details of their crimes and final statements. Steven Leane Nelson executed February 5th, 2025. On March 3rd, 2011, Steven Lane Nelson, who was 24 years old at the time of the offense, entered the North Point Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, intending to commit a robbery.
Inside, he confronted the church’s pastor, 28-year-old Clinton Clint Dobson, and the church secretary, 69-year-old Judy Elliot. Nelson threatened them with what appeared to be a gun, forced the pastor and secretary to tie each other up, and then placed a plastic bag over Pastor Dobson’s head, suffocating him to death.
During the attack, Nelson also severely beat Ms. Elliot inflicting injuries so extreme that her husband initially did not recognize her when he arrived at the scene. Dobson died from asphixxiation while Elliot was left gravely injured. She would later survive after extensive medical treatment. After leaving the two victims for dead, Nelson proceeded to ransack the office and steal valuables.
He grabbed Pastor Dobson’s laptop computer and other personal items, took Judy Elliot’s purse and credit cards, and fled the church in Elliot’s car. Nelson later pawned the stolen laptop and went on a shopping spree using the victim’s credit cards to buy new clothes and jewelry. The violent crime, a murder during the course of a daytime church robbery, shocked the community and left a prominent young pastor dead and a church employee badly injured.
Nelson was arrested 2 days later on March 5th, 2011 as the prime suspect in the robbery homicide. Arlington police tracked him to an apartment complex only a few blocks from the church. Upon Nelson’s arrest, police found several items belonging to the victims in his possession items that had been stolen from the church.
Nelson was soon charged with capital murder in Tarant County for the killing of Clint Dobson and the related assault on Elliot. In October 2012, a jury found Nelson guilty of Pastor Dobson’s murder and he was sentenced to death as punishment. Steven Leane Nelson remained on death row for over a decade until the state of Texas carried out his execution by lethal injection on February 5th, 2025.
In his final words, Nelson expressed that he was unafraid and at peace. He told his wife he loved her and said, “I’m not scared. I’m at peace. Let’s ride, Warden.” He also said he was thankful and grateful for his life and urged others to enjoy life. Richard Lee Tabler executed February 13th, 2025. Richard Lee Tabler was convicted of the 2004 double murder of two men near Colleen, Texas, a strip club manager, Tabler’s former employer and his friend using a firearm.
Richard Lee Tabler, born in 1979, was a Texas resident who worked as a bouncer at the Teasers Strip Club in Khen. Investigators say Tabler had a longunning dispute with the club’s manager, Mohamad Amina Romani. November 25th, 2004, Thanksgiving Day. Tabler arranged to meet 28-year-old Old Mohamd In Ramuni, the club manager, and Ramun’s friend Hayam Frank Zed, 25 in a remote Khen parking lot under the pretense of selling them cheap stereo equipment.
Tabler with accomplice Timothy Payne, ambushed the men with a borrowed handgun. Both victims were shot inside their car. Tabler then dragged the wounded Ramuni out and had pain film him shooting Ramuni a second time at pointblank range. Both Ramoney and Zia died at the scene. November 28th, 2004, 2 days later, Tabler targeted two teenage female employees of the same club.
Dancers Tiffany Lorraine Dodson, 18, and Amanda Benfield, 16. He lured the girls to a secluded location and fatally shot them. Tabler later admitted he carried out these killings because he believed the girls would identify him as the killer of the two men. Police quickly identified Tabler as a suspect. For days after the November 25th ambush, law enforcement arrested Tabler in late November 2004.
In custody, he confessed to shooting Ramuni and Zed, and he also admitted killing Dodson and Benfield. Authorities reported that Tabler had even called the Bell County Sheriff’s Office shortly after the first killings to boast and threaten further violence. Tabler was convicted of capital murder for the deaths of Ramuni and Zed and sentenced to death.
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He spent nearly two decades on death row and was executed by lethal injection on February 13th, 2025. Before his execution, his final words were, “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t regret my actions. I ask and pray that one day you find it in your hearts to forgive me. No amount of my apologies will ever return them to you.
” He also thanked his own family, attorneys, and prison staff for their support. Tabler’s final words were directed toward the victim’s families, expressing sincere remorse for the pain he caused. He did not proclaim innocence or deny his actions. His tone was somber and reflective. Moises Sandival Mendoza, executed April 23rd, 2025. Moyes Sandival Mendoza was convicted of a 2004 abduction and murder of 20-year-old Relle O’Neal Talison, a former high school classmate.
On March 8th, 2004, 20-year-old Moises Sandival Mendoza abducted Relle O’Neal Talison, a 20-year-old woman from Sulfur Springs, Texas. He was a former high school classmate of Relle, and they had previously dated briefly. That night, Mendoza entered her home while she was alone with her infant daughter, allegedly under the guise of talking.
He then assaulted Relle, tied her up, and forced her into the trunk of her car. He drove to a wooded area near town where he sexually assaulted her, strangled her with a belt, and then set her body on fire to destroy evidence. He left her remains in a remote area. Michelle’s disappearance triggered a communitywide search.
Her body was discovered several days later, burned beyond recognition, and identified via dental records. Moises Sandival Mendoza had a history of erratic behavior. Though he had no major prior convictions, friends and acquaintances later described him as controlling and unstable, especially in relationships. He was considered an outsider with few close friendships and displayed obsessive tendencies toward women he had dated.
Moises Mendoza was arrested on March 11th, 2004, just 3 days after Relle’s disappearance. Authorities quickly focused on him after friends mentioned their prior relationship and his erratic behavior. Investigators found physical evidence linking him to the scene, including DNA and items belonging to Relle. He confessed during interrogation, providing chilling details of the crime and leading authorities to the location of her remains.
Moises Mendoza was executed by lethal injection in Texas on April 23rd, 2025. His final statement included a direct apology to Relle’s family. I am sorry for having robbed you of Relle’s life. I know nothing that I could ever say or do would ever make up for that. I want you to know I am sincere. I apologize.
He also addressed his own loved ones briefly in Spanish, expressing love and peace before his execution. Matthew Johnson executed May 20th, 2025. Matchy Johnson, who was 39 at the time of the murder and struggled with long-term drug addiction, including heavy crack cocaine and alcohol use, was convicted of the 2012 murder of 76-year-old Nancy Harris, a convenience store clerk in Garland, Texas during a robbery.
On May 20th, 2012, Johnson walked into a Garland, Texas convenience store, the FINA Whip-in, shortly after 76-year-old Nancy Harris started her morning shift. He carried a bottle later found to contain lighter fluid and a cigarette lighter. Johnson entered the back employee area, poured lighter fluid over Harris’s head, and demanded money while standing behind her.
After she opened the cash register, he stole cigarettes, lighters, cash, and forcibly removed her ring, moistening it with his saliva to loosen it. He then ignited the lighter, immediately setting Harris on fire. Witnesses saw flames engulf her upper body as Johnson calmly exited the store, grabbing candy bars on the way out.
Harris ran to a nearby sink and the parking lot, screaming. A responding officer used a fire extinguisher to douse her. She was rushed to Parkland Hospital with extensive second and thirdderee burns and died 5 days later from her injuries despite medical treatment. Harris had suffered burns across her head, face, torso, arms, and legs.
Johnson was arrested about an hour later in a nearby neighborhood after police received a description from witnesses and Harris herself before she died. He was identified by surveillance footage and seen fleeing from a store. Officers chased and detained him nearby, recovering stolen cash, cigarettes, and property from the scene before being executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville unit on May 20th, 2025.
Exactly 13 years to the day after the crime, Johnson delivered a final statement addressed to Harris’s family and his loved ones. His final words included, “As I look at each one of you, I can see her on that day. I please ask for your forgiveness. I never meant to hurt her. I pray that she’s the first person I see when I open my eyes and I will spend eternity with her.
I made wrong choices. I’ve made wrong decisions. and now I pay the consequences. He also addressed his wife and daughters asking for their forgiveness for giving up and walking away and thanked his spiritual adviserss and prison mentors. The tone was one of remorse and faith with a wish that he’d reunite with Harris in the afterlife.
He spent 13 years on death row before his execution. Each of these executions was carried out in Huntsville, Texas by lethal injection with no further executions scheduled for the summer of 2025. Matthew Johnson’s May 20th execution was expected to be the last in Texas for 2025, barring any new dates set later in the year.
All four men were put to death for capital murder and their final moments were witnessed by officials and victim representatives to whom the inmates often directed their last birds.
