Texas Set to Execute Convicted Killer After Supreme Court Denies Final Appeal
A north Texas man is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Wednesday evening for the brutal 2013 murders of his girlfriend and her eight-year-old son, following the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of his final appeal just hours before the execution.
Details of the Crime and Legal Proceedings
Cedric Ricks, 51, was sentenced to death for fatally stabbing 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez and her son Anthony Figueroa in their Bedford apartment in May 2013. The attack also injured Sanchez's 12-year-old son, Marcus Figueroa, who survived by playing dead after being stabbed multiple times.
Ricks is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. Central Time at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, located approximately 70 miles north of Houston. The Supreme Court issued a brief order rejecting Ricks' final appeal about nine hours before the scheduled execution, providing no reason for the denial.
Racial Bias Claims in Jury Selection
Ricks' attorneys had argued that prosecutors violated his constitutional rights by eliminating potential jurors based on race, citing notes from the jury selection process that weren't obtained until 2021. These notes allegedly showed prosecutors specifically targeting minority jurors.
"At trial, Ricks already suspected that the state had singled out minority jurors to exclude them from his jury," Ricks' attorneys stated in their Supreme Court petition. They referenced the 1986 Supreme Court ruling in Batson v. Kentucky, which determined that excluding jurors because of race violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Prosecution's Response and Victim Impact
The Texas attorney general's office countered that court records show the prosecution's jury selection decisions were "race neutral" and that lower courts have already concluded prosecutors' actions weren't discriminatory. "Ricks viciously stabbed his girlfriend Roxann and her eight-year-old son Anthony to death," the attorney general's office stated. "The public has a strong interest in enforcement of Ricks' sentence."
Prosecutors detailed how the attack unfolded during an argument between Ricks and Sanchez. When Sanchez's two sons from a previous marriage tried to intervene, Ricks grabbed a kitchen knife and began stabbing Sanchez multiple times. After killing Anthony, Ricks resumed attacking Marcus, who survived the assault. Ricks did not injure his own nine-month-old son, Isaiah, who was present during the incident.
Previous Appeals and Commutation Denied
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Ricks' request for a 90-day reprieve or commutation of his death sentence on Monday. Previous appeals alleging ineffective counsel and calling for evidence suppression had also been denied.
During his trial, Ricks testified about his anger issues and claimed he was defending himself against the boys after they came to their mother's defense. "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," Ricks said, while also apologizing for the killings.
Broader Context of Capital Punishment
If carried out, this execution would mark the second in Texas this year and the sixth nationwide. Texas has historically conducted more executions than any other state. The case comes as Alabama Governor Kay Ivey commuted the death sentence of Charles "Sonny" Burton on Tuesday, reducing it to life without parole for a 1991 robbery-related fatal shooting, despite Burton not pulling the trigger.
A day before the 2013 stabbings, Ricks had appeared in court on charges of assaulting Sanchez during a previous incident. Ricks fled to Oklahoma after the murders but was later arrested and returned to Texas for trial.
