Before his execution this week, a Texas man apologized through tears to the relatives of the young mother and 8-year-old boy he stabbed to death back in 2013.
Cedric Ricks was put to death on Tuesday, March 17, for the capital murders of Roxann Sanchez, 30, and her son, Anthony Figueroa.
Ricks, 51, received a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
Jurors found him guilty of the May 2013 killings inside the apartment they shared in Bedford. Sanchez and Ricks were in a relationship.
In addition to the murders, Ricks stabbed Sanchez’s 12-year-old son, Marcus Figueroa, 25 times. The boy survived acting like he was dead.
Seven bereaved relatives, including Marcus, watched Ricks die.
Strapped to a gurney, he started to cry when asked for his last words.
“I want to say that I’m sorry for taking Roxann and Anthony from y’all,” Ricks said, reported KHOU. “I’m glad to be able to speak to tell y’all that face to face.”
Marcus, who still has scarring to the back of his neck from the attack, was unmoved, according to reported accounts.
Ricks also said he hoped one day that his victims’ relatives would be able to forgive him for his abhorrent actions. He also addressed Marcus directly and said he was sorry for taking his mother and brother away.
“I always thought about you and I’m sorry that I took your mom and your brother away,” Ricks said. “I hate that you had to experience that, I just can’t imagine, but I’m truly sorry for what I’ve done, and I wish y’all peace and joy as much as you can but I’m sorry, that’s all I can say.”
He even said he was hoping to be reunited with Sanchez and her son in heaven, so he could “tell them I’m sorry face to face.”
“I hope y’all go in peace. I really do. I’m sorry.”
The shot was administered, and not even 30 minutes later, Ricks was dead.
Ricks did appeal his sentence to no avail. Earlier in the week, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied his request for a commutation or 90-day reprieve.
Ricks became the second person put to death in Texas in 2026.
Recently, Charles “Sonny” Burton, a 75-year-old Alabama inmate, had been set for execution. But Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey commuted his death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Burton had been condemned for a deadly shooting that unfolded during a 1991 robbery at an auto parts store, despite not being the shooter.
