Steven Lawayne Nelson has maintained that while he participated unknowingly in a violent church robbery, he did not harm anyone.
Barring a last-minute stay, Steven Lawayne Nelson is set to be executed Wednesday evening for killing an Arlington pastor, a crime he has maintained he did not commit, though he admitted he was there for a robbery while the murder occurred. The execution would be Texas’ first in 2025.
Despite his conviction, Nelson has maintained his innocence through legal appeals and interviews. The now 37-year-old testified at trial, against his legal representation’s wishes, that while he was complicit in the robbery, he was just a lookout and didn’t enter the church until after an accomplice had killed Dobson. One of the two men Nelson claimed was an accomplice was charged but not indicted by a grand jury, and the other was not charged.
“We have asked God for the truth to be known and for justice to be served,” the statement said. “We now can confidently say that justice has been served and we will support the decision of this court.” Hood has been meeting with Nelson for months in preparation for the execution and to become “his best friend” before the state kills him. Even Nelson’s version of events — that he stepped over beaten and bloodied victims to steal their valuables — reflect a severe crime that requires severe punishment, Hood said. But the reverend argued execution in any case has little to do with Nelson’s culpability and more about the state.
In addition to the lack of charges brought against Nelson’s alleged accomplices, the judge’s instructions to the jury to rely on the law of parties, which states that a person can be criminally responsible for the actions of another person, also proved contentious for those disapproving of Nelson’s conviction.
Nelson, born in Oklahoma, suffered physical and sexual abuse throughout his childhood, which his defense team during his sentencing hearing claimed affected his criminal record prior to the Dobson murder. In conversations with Nelson, Hood said he recognizes how that abuse carried over through his life.
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