Texas Man Executed for Brutal Murder of Pastor
Steven Lawayne Nelson, a 37-year-old Texas man, was executed by lethal injection on Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
Nelson was convicted of capital murder for the brutal beating, strangulation, and suffocation of Rev. Clint Dobson, a 28-year-old pastor, during a robbery at NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington in 2011.
Support US and Our Work, Donate to US
The U.S. Supreme Court denied Nelson’s last-minute appeals just three hours before his scheduled execution. Nelson’s death marks the second execution in the United States this year and the first of four planned executions in Texas over the next three months.
Nelson’s troubled past includes a history of legal issues and arrests dating back to the age of six. Despite his claims of innocence and appeals for clemency, Nelson was found guilty of capital murder and attempted capital murder in 2012.
During his trial, Nelson testified that he was merely a lookout during the robbery and attributed the murder to two other individuals. However, the prosecution presented forensic evidence that linked Nelson to the crime scene, including bloodstains on his shoes and fingerprints matching those found at the church.
The execution comes after South Carolina conducted the nation’s first execution of 2025, administering lethal injection to Marion Bowman Jr. for his conviction in the 2001 murder of a friend.
