The Compelling, Unexpected Moment Inside A Texas Execution Chamber

This is an I Heart Podcast.

Guaranteed Human

There's a difference between liking a house and actually getting it.

Redfin is built to make up that difference and close the gap between finding and owning the home for you.

Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents.

So when you find a home you love, you're not a step behind when it comes to making an offer.

That means less watching great homes disappear and more focus on the one you'll call home.

Redfin helps turn saved listings into real addresses.

Get started at redfin.com, own the dream.

Do you want to find a stress free way to buy your next car?

Start at CarMax and shop your way.

If you want to browse with confidence, get pre-qualified online but no impact on your credit score and shop cars within your budget.

From luxury cars to family rides.

CarMax has options for almost every price range,

including more than 25,000 cars priced under $25,000.

So hey, want to get started?

Just head to CarMax.com for details and get pre-qualified today.

Want to drive?

CarMax.

This is Sofia Busch from work in progress with Sofia Busch.

Bring the good with avocados from Mexico.

Upgrade your meals, your get-togethers, even your everyday life.

Give your moments a little glow up.

Either one, everyone's glad showed up.

Because avocados from Mexico spark the joy with every bite.

And by the way, they're good for you, too.

So elevate your everyday.

Bring the good flavor. So rich and cravable.

Avocados from Mexico.

Always good.

This podcast is sponsored by Nurture Life.

Hey, it's Daniel Fishel from Pod Meat's World.

And as a mom to two growing boys,

I know how chaotic meal time can get.

No matter how confident I am with what I'm serving them,

my kids will always find a way to call the meal gross,

or stinky, or...

Yuck!

It's true. They can be wildly picky about new foods.

And with my busy schedule, I don't have the time to become America's next top chef.

And so that's why I love Nurture Life.

It's a meal delivery service that actually caters to kids.

Ideal for ages eight months to eight years.

Fully cooked and ready to serve in just one minute.

It's the problem solver I've been praying for.

It's the top meal delivery service for babies, toddlers, and kids.

And everything is designed by registered dieticians.

So you can sleep safe knowing your kids are getting the protein, veggies, and nutrients they need.

While still eating favorites like mac and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, and so much more.

Plus, it's allergy-friendly, which we know is clutch.

And when it comes to options,

Nurture Life has you covered.

There's more than 50 nutritious meals and snacks on their menu, from soft finger foods for babies and toddlers,

to balanced kids meals for when they get older.

Nurture Life does the cooking.

They deliver it straight to your door.

And then you might even have time to eat something for yourself.

So now is the time to head to NurtureLife.com slash P-O-D.

And use code pod for 50% off your first order.

Plus free shipping.

That's right.

50% off plus free shipping.

Once again, that's NurtureLife.com slash pod.

And make sure you use promo code P-O-D.

Even if you aren't a parent with young kids, you might have parent friends who struggle with meal time.

Make sure to share our code P-O-D with them.

Remember, put your little ones first with healthy meals from Nurture Life.

That website one more time is NurtureLife.com slash P-O-D pod.

Ryan Reynolds here from Edmobile.

I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying.

It's not just for celebrities, so do like I did.

And have one of your assistance assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today.

I'm told it's super easy to do at MintMobile.com slash switch.

Up front payment of $45 for three month plan, equivalent to $15 per month required.

Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra,

feeful terms at MintMobile.com.

Welcome everyone to this episode of Amy and TJ.

We are used to sometimes getting a final sentence if you final words from inmates as they are about to be executed.

But yesterday, we got apologies, apologies, apologies, paragraphs, truly of one inmates final words.

51 year old Cedric Ricks, who was pronounced dead last night just before 7 p.m. wanted to make his amends before he died by lethal injection without everyone.

Welcome to this episode. It is Thursday, March 12th and we have covered a lot of executions babe over this past year because there just frankly had been so many.

Each one is unique and each one I feel like there is a takeaway, but this one was especially compelling.

This is what we wanted to skip over. To be honest with you all, we cover a lot of these and some of them have intriguing stories that come up about the person condemned person's guilt or innocence.

There are questions, even if it's not about the guilt or innocence, sometimes robes the question is just about if they got a fair trial or their mental capacity or should you be executing someone this old or this sick.

There is usually some kind of humanitarian effort that is a tie to these executions that sometimes make for compelling stories behind the scenes.

This is not one where people were rallying support around him because of hey, he needs a break or hey, he was coerced or hey, it was something.

I don't know, this was a heinous, heinous, horrible crime to the point we were almost going to just bypasses like this is a tough one.

We'll just say there was an execution and move on, but turns out this is now one of the more compelling moments we have seen in the past year of covering what was an extraordinary year of executions in the US.

Yeah, you never know what to expect. I think that is the lesson too. You think you understand the way something's going to go or how someone's going to react and then they surprise you and that is exactly what happened last night.

Yes, 51-year-old Cedric Rex, he was executed yesterday for the May 2013 killings and I say killings but brutal stabings of his girlfriend and her eight-year-old son.

We're talking about 30-year-old Roxanne Sanchez and eight-year-old Anthony and Roxanne's other son and this is of note.

He was 12 years old at the time. His name is Marcus. He survived. He was also stabbed.

This is unthinkable 25 times in the back of his head and he survived by playing dead and him surviving helped put Cedric Rex behind bars.

And that young man, that boy, was in the room last night as a grown man now but he was there to watch this man be executed and he was there and he received.

I don't know if he expected it or not but he received a direct message from Cedric Rex last night. Look, this is extraordinary. There are two things that if you have no idea of what the crime was about or the execution or the legal wrangling that got to this point.

Most people wrote they hear an execution. They ask usually two things, maybe three. They might ask how was the person executed but they'll ask what was the last meal and what were the last words?

Yeah, and a lot of times, well, we usually can, well, we can always tell you why they're being executed.

Sometimes we know their last meals and most of the time I would say at least the ones we've covered, there usually aren't last words. Final words are actually fairly rare. I don't know what the percentage is.

Even when they have them, I don't, the percentage would even be lower of how many times that person uses their last words to actually apologize, make amends, ask for forgiveness. That's even a lower percentage.

He had something on his heart, his mind, and this was his last chance to say any took it.

It's so true because the truth is most people who are executed that we can recall, and certainly I think this is anecdotal. I don't have the numbers on it, but not only are they not apologizing for what they've been convicted of and what they're about to be executed for.

A lot of the times they're denying it. They're denying the crime. They go to their death, saying, wasn't me.

So to have the ownership of the crime is one thing, but then to apologize for it is a whole other level. And this apology, I've never seen one quite like this. He directly aimed it at that now 25 year old young man who he thought he had killed that evening.

I mean, good on him for doing so. I mean, we haven't heard the reaction yet from the young man, but we have heard from families prior and other executions who do get messages from that condemned person right before they die.

And we have heard some of those families report that those were very important words for them to hear.

Yes. And we're going to give you what Rick's final words were, but I wanted to just for those of you who don't know the crime and just to understand where Marcus is 25 year old now sitting watching his mother's former boyfriend about to die what he lived through because what he was convicted of is horrific.

So we know that Cedric Rick's and he's admitted to this now began fighting with his girlfriend. He had a history of domestic violence. He had a history of problems not only with his girlfriends, but with their children.

So they started fighting and the boys who were 8 and 12 jumped in to try and save their mom to try and stop Cedric from he was punching her. That's when he went into the kitchen, got a knife and began to stab Roxanne and Anthony.

And Marcus was able to run to a bedroom closet, but he went to go find him to finish the job and Marcus even testified in court. I cannot even imagine this saying that he heard the sounds that his 8 year old brother made and he imitated them to basically pretend like he was dying and that he died.

And that then and only then did Cedric let up. He actually took a shower. There was a 9 month old son in the in the home as well. He put him in the crib and then took off to Oklahoma where police later arrested him, but that's the crime we're talking about.

And that's why we were saying this was one that we were frankly we were willing to let go. We will pass over this one. Yes, there's still death penalty opponents who are out there saying no execution should take place,

but there was no sympathy necessarily for this man or this crime when you hear about it. So really we said, okay, well, we will let this one pass and there will be plenty more.

But then turns out, Robes, this one turned out to be incredibly compelling even hearing that horror. There is still humanity at the end. It's amazing that that's even possible.

Just hearing you say that gave me show. So here are the final words that Marcus and six other family members of Roxanne heard last night right before Cedric Rick's was pronounced dead.

He said, I want to say that I'm sorry for taking Roxanne and Anthony from y'all. I'm glad to be able to speak to tell y'all that face to face and to Marcus.

I always thought about you and I am sorry that I took your mom and your brother away. I hate that you had to experience that. I just can't imagine.

But I'm truly sorry for what I did what I've done and I wish all peace and joy as much as you can, but I'm sorry. That's all I can say. I hope y'all go in peace. I really do. I'm sorry.

It's the best you could ever hope for at the end. You could what more could you get? Maybe the family looks at this and wants him to die and consider that finality.

I can't imagine those words doing. I don't know. I can't speak for that family like what they prefer not to have heard that I doubt it harm did it do harm in some way.

And I don't know how it came across in the room and how he said it, but at least reading them on paper come off of certain way roads and that's sincere.

We talked about this. There was an AP reporter who was in that execution chamber and he was giving these details. He is the one who told us what these final words were.

But he also mentioned that Rick's voice was cracking when he spoke these words and that there were tears in his eyes.

I mean, what was it? Can you have grace and decency for someone who murdered a child by stabbing them and murder that child's mother and attempted to murder a second child?

Can you have any grace in your heart? I don't know. You could mourn and you could have grace, robes for a human life, not for the act.

But I mean, this is just death is awful. It is. To plan it and these ceremonies we go through are awful, but maybe we always take something out of it.

I hope it brought something to the family. I hope it did too. I was thinking about the fact, look, the family didn't speak. And that's why we don't know their reaction. They chose not to speak to reporters.

I can understand not really being in a good headspace or in a good emotional space to actually react to it in front of cameras with microphones after all this family has been through.

But I would imagine that hearing that from him was better than hearing nothing. It wasn't as if he was saying it to get out of being executed or to get off easier or to get a lighter sentence.

He had no motivation other than trying to give that family peace, maybe trying to get into heaven instead of hell if he's a believer. I believe he is a believer actually will get into that in just a moment.

But I also think it says something about given enough time certain people might be able to reflect in a way about their actions where they can say they're sorry.

If enough time hadn't passed, maybe he wouldn't have been able to do so. But at least he was able to give them that at the end. When we come back, we're going to talk about Cedric Rick's because he actually had more to say before he died to his living sons who are still here.

They were not there last night, but we're going to read some of what he had to say to them and certainly talk about what the rest of this year was going to look like after a record setting gear of executions in 2025.

This is Sophia Bush from work in progress with Sophia Bush.

Bring the good with avocados from Mexico. Upgrade your meals, your get together is even your everyday life. Give your moments a little glow up.

Either one everyone's glad showed up because avocados from Mexico spark the joy with every bite. And by the way, they're good for you too.

So elevate your everyday. Bring the good flavor. So rich and craveable.

Avocados from Mexico. Always good.

This podcast is sponsored by nurture life. Hey, it's Daniel Fischel from Pod Meets World. And as a mom to two growing boys, I know how chaotic meal time can get.

No matter how confident I am with what I'm serving them, my kids will always find a way to call the meal gross or stinky or yuck.

That's true. They can be wildly picky about new foods. And with my busy schedule, I don't have the time to become America's next top chef.

And so that's why I love nurture life. It's a meal delivery service that actually caters to kids ideal for ages eight months to eight years, fully cooked and ready to serve in just one minute.

It's the problem solver I've been praying for. It's the top meal delivery service for babies, toddlers and kids.

And everything is designed by registered dieticians. So you can sleep safe knowing your kids are getting the protein, veggies and nutrients they need while still eating favorites like mac and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, and so much more.

Plus, it's allergy friendly, which we know is clutch. And when it comes to options, nurture life has you covered. There's more than 50 nutritious meals and snacks on their menu from soft finger foods for babies and toddlers to balanced kids meals for when they get older.

Nurture life does the cooking. They deliver it straight to your door and then you might even have time to eat something for yourself.

So now is the time to head to nurturelife.com slash POD and use code pod for 50% off your first order plus free shipping. That's right. 50% off plus free shipping.

Once again, that's nurturelife.com slash pod and make sure you use promo code POD.

Even if you aren't a parent with young kids, you might have parent friends who struggle with meal time. Make sure to share our code POD with them.

Remember, put your little ones first with healthy meals from nurture life. That website one more time is nurturelife.com slash POD pod.

Only in a home is full of surprises. Some wonderful, some not so much. And when something breaks, it can feel like the whole day unravels. That's why home serve exists. For as little as $4.99 a month, you'll always have someone to call.

A trusted professional ready to help bringing peace of mind to 4.5 million homeowners nationwide. For plans starting at just $4.99 a month, go to homeserve.com. That's homeserve.com.

Not available everywhere. Most plans range between $4.99 to $11.99 a month. Your first year terms apply uncovered repairs.

Busy work weeks can leave you feeling drained. Prolong's five day fasting mimicking diet works at the cellular level to rejuvenate you from the inside out.

Providing real results that include fat-focused, sustainable weight loss with no injection needed.

Next Gen builds on the original prologue with 100% organic soups and teas, a richer taste and ready to eat meals developed at USC's longevity institute and backed by top medical centers.

Prolong supports biological age reduction, metabolic health, skin appearance, fat loss and energy.

Get 15% off plus a $40 bonus gift when you subscribe at prolonglife.com slash iHeart. That's prolonglife.com slash iHeart.

One iced coffee. 99 cents please. For real? No way.

One iced coffee. 99 cents please. For real? No way.

What a deal. Your new morning groove. Ice coffee from McDonald's any size for just 99 cents to 11 a.m.

Price and participation may vary. Can I be combined with any other offer?

Welcome back everyone to this episode of Amy and TJ. We are talking about the incredibly unexpected but profound moments.

We saw last night in Texas just before 51 year old Cedric Ricks was given a lethal cocktail, a lethal injection where he was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after the process began.

But he gave a very long apology to his victims, family members who were there watching his execution for a horrific murder.

Two murders actually the brutal stabbing deaths of 30 year old Roxanne Sanchez and her eight year old son Anthony, her other son who was now 25 years old, who was also attacked by Cedric was in that room that night and heard that apology, some of which was directly aimed at him.

But before he actually stepped into that death chamber, he wrote some letters to his sons from death row and they were released.

And he has his son from a previous marriage and then that little nine month old baby that we talked about before the break Isaiah was his name and that certainly would be the half brother to Marcus who was there on the room last night.

This is what he had to say to those sons. Sometimes I wake up kicking and screaming for what I have done to you.

I can't say sorry enough for what I've done. My prayer is that you can forgive me. My prayer is that you both will carry on the legacy of who I have become in Christ and not who I used to be.

You talked about grace. He's asking for it.

It's tough. Who gives it? Who has the right to give it? Who is right? We're not, well, I guess we know I was about to say we're not his judge, but actually we are as a society and that's why he's dead right now quite frankly.

But I don't know what you do with people sometimes who commit the worst of acts. I guess we've been around and been exposed to people and things like this more than most and been up close and personal.

But we've also witnessed some of the worst in people and we've seen the best, but we also seen transitions. We've seen people change.

I just love the idea, Robes. Yes, he's dead now, but I love the idea for us continuing to find value in human beings even after they have taken life or not contributed even to the rest of society by their actions, but we find a way to recognize how they still can contribute to a loved one, to a niece.

We're still nursing or being a parent to while they're in jail, to speaking to other prisoners. There's value still in somebody's life. I don't know, it seems weird. It's not sympathy for a murderer. This is just being a human being and being decent and finding moments of grace everywhere.

I think it's such an important way to look at it because yes, sometimes the contribution that some of these inmates can make is a cautionary tale to either other family members or other folks who are headed down that same path and help them turn their lives around, go in a different direction. You don't want to end up like me.

And I also was when I was reading the not only what he said to the family last night before he was executed, but what he asked if his sons, I pray that you can forgive me. That wasn't something he was asking for himself so he could feel less guilty.

I started recognizing for what it was he was asking that for them because if the family of Roxanne, if his own sons can forgive him, it takes that burden of hatred off of them.

When you forgive someone, you release something, you release some of the pain, you release some of the anger, you actually can invite peace in once you forgive.

And so I started thinking about it differently. When people say, can you forgive me? We think, oh, that's a selfish thing. You just want to get rid of your guilt, but actually it's a gift to the other person.

If they can truly forgive the worst possible thing, that means that means that means a life of potential peace following it.

I mean, yes, there will be plenty of people right now. Robs are just rolling our eyes. He's a monster, deserves to die. That's the end of story.

And then you're okay to feel that way. We understand, but there is, it's okay to feel the other way and it's okay to force all to sit in the same room with a different opinion about this.

And I'm curious, I like hearing other people's perspective when they are angry. And when they're like, yeah, he should die. I'm listening because I just, there's something this ugly there is some hint of beauty in the end.

And when it just comes to human beings, human nature, apologies, grace, forgiveness, and movie on.

Yeah, it's kind of what life is all about, isn't it? And Ricks was already the second inmate put to death in Texas this year.

He was the sixth in the country were at March 12th right now. The next execution is in the state that has become by far the leading state in executions, at least it was last year.

The record setting Florida in five days, Michael King is set to be executed in that state. And we will continue to following following the growing number of scheduled executions.

They happen month by month. We don't know the total number yet. That will still be to be determined. But certainly we are seeing governors and specifically the state of Florida.

DeSantis is running out of ink. He is signing death more. It's left and right. They won't close last year by the way. They didn't just set a record in the state number one. They were way 19 versus who had the most after that five.

Five I believe Texas and South Carolina maybe. And so we got two more this month in the country. Both of those are in Florida within two weeks of each other with the 17th and the 31st.

So yes, Florida's we started the year with only I think somewhere around 17 18 on the books planned and already more have been signed that number will go up in the country.

It certainly will and look we will we will continue to follow some of these stories that actually make an impression or at least have some lessons in them. I think it's something that we can all look at this is our criminal justice system and certainly so many of us have been touched by it in different ways.

So we always appreciate you listening to us. I'm Amy Robach alongside TJ Holmes and we will talk to you soon.

This is Chelsea handler from dear Chelsea after the big game like most people I kept thinking about the commercials and there was one that stayed with me.

It was from the blue square alliance against hate and it wasn't loud or flashy. It showed a Jewish kid being targeted at school and another student who chose not to ignore it.

As someone who was Jewish that moment felt very real to me not dramatic just familiar and what struck me was how clearly it showed that hate doesn't always announce itself but the impact is still huge.

If you saw the blue square spot during the big game it's worth thinking about and if you want to show support sharing the blue square is one small way to do that.

If you work in university maintenance, Granger considers you an MVP because your playbook ensures your arena is always ready for tip off and Granger is your trusted partner offering the products you need all in one place from HVAC and plumbing supplies to lighting and more and all delivered with plenty of time left on the clock.

So your team always gets the win call 1800 Granger visit Granger.com or just up by Granger for the ones who get it done.

This is Sophia Bush from work in progress with Sophia Bush bring the good with avocados for Mexico upgrade your meals your get together is even your everyday life give your moments a little glow up.

Either one everyone's glad showed up because avocados from Mexico spark the joy with every bite and by the way they're good for you to so elevate your everyday bring the good flavor so rich and cravable.

Avocados from Mexico always good.

This podcast is sponsored by nurture life. Hey it's Daniel official from pod meets world and as a mom to two growing boys I know how chaotic meal time can get no matter how confident I am with what I'm serving them.

My kids will always find a way to call the meal gross or stinky or yuck. It's true they can be wildly picky about new foods and with my busy schedule I don't have the time to become America's next top chef.

And so that's why I love nurture life it's a meal delivery service that actually caters to kids ideal for ages eight months to eight years fully cooked and ready to serve in just one minute it's the problem solver I've been praying for.

It's the top meal delivery service for babies toddlers and kids and everything is designed by register dieticians so you can sleep safe knowing your kids are getting the protein veggies and nutrients they need.

While still eating favorites like mac and cheese spaghetti and meatballs and so much more plus it's allergy friendly which we know is clutch.

And when it comes to options nurture life has you covered there's more than 50 nutritious meals and snacks on their menu from soft finger foods for babies and toddlers to balanced kids meals for when they get older.

Nurture life does the cooking they deliver it straight to your door and then you might even have time to eat something for yourself.

So now is the time to head to nurture life dot com slash P O D and use code pod for 50% off your first order plus free shipping that's right 50% off plus free shipping once again that's nurture life dot com slash pod and make sure you use promo code P O D.

Even if you aren't a parent with young kids you might have parent friends who struggle with meal time make sure to share our code P O D with them.

Remember put your little ones first with healthy meals from nurture life that website one more time is nurture life dot com slash P O D pod.

Ever feel like your bedroom's shrinking don't worry you don't have to sell your favorite things to make space with IKEA bedroom storage solutions think dressers wardrobes full closet systems even storage boxes.

You can keep it all your vintage bantees safe those limited edition sneakers plenty of room and yes your childhood teddy bear gets a spot too.

Don't sell what you love stored instead with IKEA bedroom storage solutions shop now at IKEA US slash bedroom storage this is an I heart podcast guaranteed human.