Texas Executes Steven Nelson for 2011 Pastor's Murder

Steven Nelson, convicted of killing Rev. Clint Dobson during a church robbery, maintained his innocence until his execution by lethal injection.

Steven Nelson, 37, was executed at the Texas state penitentiary in Huntsville for the 2011 murder of Rev. Clint Dobson, a pastor at NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington.
Nelson was convicted of beating, strangling, and suffocating Dobson during a robbery, though he claimed he only acted as a lookout and blamed two accomplices.
The evidence presented at trial included DNA from the victims on Nelson's shoes, fingerprints at the scene, and stolen items in his possession.
Nelson's appeals, which cited inadequate legal representation and failure to investigate alleged accomplices, were repeatedly denied by state and federal courts.
Dobson's family chose to focus on his legacy, while Nelson's spiritual advisor and wife advocated for clemency and criticized the use of capital punishment.