A North Texas man, Cedric Ricks, is scheduled to be executed for the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend and her 8-year-old son nearly 13 years ago. The brutal attack occurred in May 2013 at an apartment in Bedford, a suburb in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where Ricks fatally stabbed 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez and her young son, Anthony Figueroa. During the same violent episode, Sanchez’s 12-year-old son, Marcus Figueroa, was also injured but survived the ordeal.
Ricks, now 51 years old, was set to receive a lethal injection after 6 p.m. CDT at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas, located approximately 70 miles north of Houston. His case has drawn attention not only because of the nature of the crime but also due to ongoing legal debates surrounding his conviction and the jury selection process in his trial.
In the lead-up to the scheduled execution, Ricks’ attorneys petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay, arguing that his constitutional rights were violated when prosecutors allegedly excluded potential jurors based on their race. This claim cites the landmark 1986 Supreme Court decision Batson v. Kentucky, which ruled that excluding jurors solely on racial grounds violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. According to Ricks’ lawyers, notes from the jury selection process obtained only recently in 2021 indicate that prosecutors deliberately singled out minority jurors, thereby undermining the fairness of the trial.
However, the Texas Attorney General’s Office has rejected these allegations. They maintain that the court records show the prosecution’s jury selection was “race neutral” and that lower courts have already reviewed and dismissed claims of discriminatory practices. The attorney general’s office emphasized the severity of Ricks' crimes, stating, “Ricks viciously stabbed his girlfriend Roxann and her eight-year-old son Anthony to death. The public has a strong interest in enforcement of Ricks’ sentence.” Furthermore, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Ricks’ recent request for a 90-day reprieve or to commute his death sentence.
Details of the crime reveal a tragic and violent confrontation. Prosecutors said that the incident began with a domestic dispute between Ricks and Sanchez inside their apartment. During the argument, Sanchez’s two sons from a previous marriage, Anthony and Marcus Figueroa, intervened in an attempt to break up the fight. In response, Ricks took a knife from the kitchen and began stabbing Sanchez multiple times. As the attack unfolded, Marcus fled to his bedroom closet, where he attempted to call the police. After killing Anthony, Ricks resumed stabbing Marcus, who survived by pretending to be dead. The couple’s infant son, Isaiah, who was then only nine months old, was not harmed during the attack. Following the assault, Ricks fled the scene but was later arrested in Oklahoma.
During his trial, Ricks admitted to having anger management issues and claimed he was acting in self-defense against Sanchez’s sons, who had come to their mother’s aid during the altercation. Despite his testimony, Ricks expressed remorse for the killings, stating, “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.” The day before the stabbings, Ricks had appeared in court on charges related to a previous assault against Sanchez, highlighting a history of domestic violence within the relationship.
If executed, Cedric Ricks would be the second person put to death in Texas in 2024 and the sixth nationwide this year. Texas has long been known for its high number of executions, consistently leading the United States in carrying out capital punishment sentences.
In a related development, Alabama had planned to execute Charles “Sonny” Burton, a 75-year-old inmate, on Thursday for a fatal shooting during a robbery in 1991. However, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey intervened and commuted Burton’s death sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Burton’s case was notable because, despite being sentenced to death, he did not actually pull the trigger during the crime.
The case of Cedric Ricks continues to attract attention as legal battles over jury selection and constitutional rights unfold while the state moves forward with carrying out his death sentence. Advocates on both sides of the