Texas man who suffocated Arlington pastor set to be executed this week

A man on death row for killing a North Texas pastor is scheduled to be executed this week.

Records from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice show that Steven Nelson is set to be executed on Wednesday, February 5.

Steven Nelson convicted of murdering Pastor Clint Dobson

The backstory:

In 2012, Nelson was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2011 murder of Clint Dobson at NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington.

Prosecutors said Nelson suffocated the young pastor by putting a bag over his head as he was sitting in his office writing a sermon. 

Nelson suffocated Dobson, leaving him dead on the floor. 

Pastor Clint Dobson

Nelson also severely beat the church’s secretary before fleeing in her car.

He was captured after going on a shopping spree using the victims’ stolen credit cards.

Blood from both victims was found on a pair of Nelson's shoes, and studs from his belt were found at the church.

During his trial, jurors unanimously agreed that Nelson posed a danger to society and should face the death penalty.

"It is hard for me to fathom that you did what you did for a car and a laptop and a phone," Dobson's father-in-law, Phillip Rozeman, said in a statement after the sentencing. "The world is going to miss a leader. It's sad to know all the people that won't be helped because Clint is not here."

Three days before the murder, Nelson had been released from a court-ordered anger-management program, part of a deal with Dallas County prosecutors after he was arrested for aggravated assault on his girlfriend. He earlier had served time behind bars for a two-year sentence for theft, and spent much of his teen years in juvenile facilities after committing various crimes.

After the sentencing, he was accused of angrily breaking a sprinkler head in his holding cell, which flooded the courtroom.

Steven Nelson Execution

Nelson's execution has been delayed before.

The now 37-year-old was set to die by lethal injection in October, but prosecutors filed a motion to delay it until February.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Nelson’s lawyers asked for more time to develop arguments about the sentencing.

Texas Executions in 2025

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Richard Tabler (Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice)

What's next:

Nelson would be Texas' first execution in 2025. 

There are currently three other executions scheduled for this year.

Convicted murderer Richard Tabler is scheduled to be executed on Feb. 13.

Serial killer David Wood is scheduled to be killed on March 13.

Moises Mendoza, who was convicted of strangling a 20-year-old in Collin County, dumping the body in a dirt pit and setting it on fire, is set to be executed on April 23.

By the numbers:

Five men were executed in Texas in 2024.

First execution since Robert Roberson 

Nelson's execution would be the first since fellow death row inmate Robert Roberson's execution was delayed at the last minute.

Roberson was scheduled to be executed in Oct. 2024, but the Texas Supreme Court paused his execution after a subpoena from a Texas House committee.

The Supreme Court has since cleared the way for Roberson's execution.

A new execution date has not been set at this time.

Roberson, 58, was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in Palestine, Texas in 2002. 

He took her to the emergency room with a high fever, where medical staff determined her condition was consistent with shaken baby syndrome.

Roberson's attorneys have challenged that diagnosis, calling it "junk science." 

The Source: Information in this article comes from past FOX coverage of the case and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

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