Executed man’s surprising last three words

A death-row inmate, whom married just weeks ago, had some unexpected final words seconds before his lethal injection for murdering a pastor.

A US man convicted of murdering a pastor was put to death this — and uttered some unexpected last words prior to being executed.

Steven Lawayne Nelson, 37, was convicted for the 2011 killing of the Reverend Clint Dobson — who was beaten, choked, and suffocated with a plastic bag inside NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington, west of Dallas, Texas, according to the Associated Press.

He was being held at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit, Texas’ death row jail, situated in Livingtson, north of Houston.

The murderer spent his final moments alive speaking to his wife, Helena Noa Dubois. The pair had been married for a matter of weeks after meeting through a prison pen pal club program.

He urged his wife to live a full life as she held up a white service dog to a window separating Nelson from witnesses to his execution, the New York Post reported.

“I will always love you no matter … our love is uncontrollable,” he said.

“It is what it is,” he could be heard telling his wife, whom he married two weeks before being put to death, according to the AP.

“I’m not scared. I’m at peace.”

Then Nelson, facing eternity, offered his final three words.

“Let’s ride, warden,” the killer said right before he was lethally injected.

Steven Nelson, 37, spent 12 years on Texas death row prior to his execution. (Photo by Cécite CLOCHERET / AFP)

Helene Noa Dubois married Steven Nelson in December. They are pictured in the Allan B. Polunsky Unit, the prison that houses the 169 men on Texas' death row in Livingston, Texas. (Photo by Handout / FAMILY HANDOUT / AFP)

As the fatal dose of pentobarbital coursed through his system, Nelson was seen mouthing the word “love” twice before briefly convulsing.

He was declared dead 24 minutes later.

While imprisoned and awaiting trial, Nelson was indicted in the killing of another inmate — a charge for which he was never tried.

The Reverend Clint Dobson was murdered by Nelson.

The Dobson family shrugged off Nelson’s death

“As a family, we have chosen to take this day to focus on the great memories we have of Clint rather than giving time to his killer,” the family said in a statement to newspaper USA Today.

“Steven Nelson forever changed our lives, but he has never occupied our minds.”

This is the second execution to be carried out in the US in 2025.

The first was last Friday in South Carolina, where Marion Bowman Jr received a lethal injection for a 2001 murder.

Texas has three more executions scheduled before the end of April.

This story was first published in the New York Post and is reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Executed man’s surprising last three words