Gerrard Kaonga
A man expected to be executed today won’t get his final last meal due to the actions of a previous inmate who was put to death.
Steven Nelson is set to be executed for his role in the murder of pastor Clint Dobson, 28, back in 2011.
He was handed the death penalty for the killing of the Dobson in a robbery gone wrong at his church, and is set to be executed later today (February 5).
Nelson has repeatedly insisted that he wasn’t responsible for the death of Dobson or 69-year-old church secretary Judy Elliot, who was beaten mercilessly at the church.
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He has admitted that he had shown up to the North Pointe Baptist Church, in Arlington, in order to be a lookout while two other individuals committed the crimes.
The 37-year-old has requested permission to take a lie detector in a bid to prove that he didn't carry out the murders of the pair.
Ahead of his execution, like all other Death Row inmates, Nelson was expected to have his ‘final meal’ - but he reportedly won’t get this privilege due to the actions of a previously death row inmate.
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Inmate Lawrence Russell Brewer’s final act of defiance resulted in a change in the state of Texas.
Brewer, who was executed in 2011, requested a rather extensive final order of two chicken fried steaks, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, fried okra, a pound of barbecue, three fajitas, a meat lover’s pizza, a pint of ice cream and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts.
However, prison officials confirmed that the inmate refused to take a single bite of his expansive meal.
The incident saw Texas senator John Whitmire write a letter to the executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to say: "It is extremely inappropriate to give a person sentenced to death such a privilege," thus abolishing all special meal requests.
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Recently, Nelson spoke to News Nation and reflected on his impending execution.
He insisted: "I'm not the monster they say I am’ and went on to apologize for his role, regardless."
When asked what he would say to victim Judy Elliot, he replied: "I will tell you that I'd like to apologize for my actions in the role that I played - even though I wasn't the person who assaulted her. It still hurts to this day that I couldn't do nothing at the time, you know?
"I keep thinking 'what if that was one of my family members?', and I wrote a letter to them but the church denied the letter - that really hurt me, you know? Your organization of Christ, there's always redemption and a second chance."