Cedric Ricks, 51, was executed in Huntsville after using his final statement to apologize to relatives of Roxann Sanchez and her children. Sanchez, 30, and her 8-year-old son Anthony were killed in a May 2013 stabbing in Bedford; another son, Marcus, survived after being stabbed 25 times. Ricks was convicted of capital murder in 2014, exhausted appeals including a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, and was denied clemency by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. He was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. CDT after a lethal injection of pentobarbital.
Texas Inmate Cedric Ricks Apologizes to Victims’ Family in Final Statement Before Execution
Texas death row inmate uses final statement before execution to speak directly to victims' family
Cedric Ricks, 51, was executed Wednesday at the Huntsville Unit in Texas after delivering a final statement in which he apologized to relatives of the woman and children he killed in 2013.
Final Statement
"I can't imagine the pain it has caused you. I'm glad I am able to speak to tell y'all that face-to-face. I just hope one day you can find forgiveness in your heart, so you don't have to live with the pain anymore."
Ricks directly addressed seven family members who watched from behind glass, including Marcus Figueroa, who survived the attack as a child. He apologized for "taking Roxann and Anthony away from y'all" and said he hoped the family could one day find peace.
Cedric Ricks was executed March 10, 2026, for the 2013 killings of Roxann Sanchez and her 8-year-old son, Anthony Figueroa.(AP Newsroom)
The 2013 Attack
Prosecutors say the killings occurred in May 2013 at Roxann Sanchez's apartment in Bedford, a suburb of Dallas–Fort Worth. According to court records, Ricks stabbed Sanchez, 30, and her 8-year-old son, Anthony Figueroa, repeatedly with a kitchen knife during an argument. Sanchez died from stab wounds to the neck, blunt-force trauma to the head and asphyxia, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office concluded. Another son, Marcus, then 12, survived after being stabbed 25 times by pretending to be dead; scars on his neck were visible as he watched the execution.
Arrest, Trial and Appeals
The Huntsville Unit prison in Huntsville, Texas, where Cedric Ricks was put to death.
After the attack, Ricks fled in Sanchez's car and called relatives to confess. Authorities traced his cellphone and arrested him in Garvin County, Oklahoma; he was extradited to Texas. Ricks was convicted of capital murder in 2014. At trial he acknowledged struggling with anger and said he acted in self-defense after the boys intervened; court records show he had appeared in court the day before the killings on a prior assault charge involving Sanchez.
Ricks' lawyers argued his trial involved improper juror strikes based on race, but the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his final appeal. Earlier in the week, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency or a temporary reprieve.
Execution
File photo of The Walls Unit in Huntsville, Texas, where prisoners from death row are executed.
Ricks was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. CDT after receiving a lethal injection of pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. Reports note he did not harm his own then-9-month-old son, Isaiah, during the attack.
Reporting
This account draws on reporting from local outlets and The Associated Press.
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