Texas man facing execution for fatally stabbing girlfriend and her 8-year-old son

HOUSTON (AP) — A North Texas man faced execution on Wednesday for fatally stabbing his girlfriend and her 8-year-old son nearly 13 years ago.

Cedric Ricks was sentenced to death for the May 2013 killings of 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez and her son Anthony Figueroa at their apartment in Bedford, a suburb in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Sanchez’s 12-year-old son, Marcus Figueroa, was injured during the attack.

Ricks, 51, was scheduled to receive a lethal injection after 6 p.m. CDT at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Houston.

His attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his execution, arguing that prosecutors violated Ricks’ constitutional rights by eliminating potential jurors on the basis of race. Previous appeals by Ricks that alleged ineffective counsel and called for the suppression of evidence in the case have been denied.

In a 1986 ruling known as Batson v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court determined that excluding jurors because of their race violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

“At trial, Ricks already suspected that the State had singled out minority jurors to exclude them from his jury,” Ricks’ attorneys said in their petition to the Supreme Court.

Ricks’ lawyers said that notes prosecutors kept during the jury selection process and which were not obtained until 2021 show that prosecutors singled out minority jurors.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office said court records show the prosecution’s decisions in jury selection were “race neutral” and lower courts have already concluded that prosecutors’ actions were not discriminatory.

Ricks “viciously stabbed his girlfriend Roxann and her eight-year-old son Anthony to death,” the attorney general’s office said. “The public has a strong interest in enforcement of Ricks’ sentence.”

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Monday denied Ricks’ request for a 90-day reprieve or to commute his death sentence.

Prosecutors said Ricks and Sanchez were arguing in their apartment when Sanchez’ two sons from a previous marriage — Anthony and Marcus Figueroa — tried to break up the fight.

Ricks grabbed a knife from the kitchen and began to stab Sanchez multiple times, according to court records.

Marcus Figueroa ran to his bedroom closet and tried to call police. After killing Anthony Figuerora, Ricks resumed stabbing Marcus Figueroa, who survived the attack by playing dead. Ricks did not injure his then 9-month-old son, Isaiah, according to court records.

Ricks fled and was later arrested in Oklahoma.

During his trial, Ricks testified that he had anger issues and had been defending himself against the two boys after they had come 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,” said Ricks, who also apologized for the killings.

A day before the stabbings, Ricks had appeared in court after having been charged with assaulting Sanchez during a previous incident.

If the execution is carried out, Ricks would be the second person put to death this year in Texas and the sixth person in the country. Texas has historically held more executions than any other state.

Charles “Sonny” Burton, a 75-year-old inmate in Alabama, had been scheduled to be executed on Thursday. But Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday commuted his death sentence, reducing it to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Burton had been sentenced to death for a fatal shooting during a 1991 robbery even though he didn’t pull the trigger.

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