Death row inmate made final comment to victims' families in last words before execution

A death row inmate pleaded for the forgiveness of his victims families in the final moments before his execution on Thursday (February 13).

Richard Lee Tabler was given the ultimate punishment after fatally shooting two men on November 26, 2004, in a remote area near Killeen, Texas.

The 46-year-old had worked at a strip club named TeaZers, which was managed by Mohammed-Amine Rahmouni, 28, before he was later banned from the establishment.

Tabler arranged a late-night meeting with Rahmouni and his friend Haitham Zayed, 25, which was actually a planned ambush.

He shot the pair as they sat in a car - while his friend recorded it - before stealing a wallet and black bag from the vehicle.

Tabler, from Tulare County, California, confessed to the killings and a couple of days later he admitted to cops that he had also killed two teenage girls who had worked at the club.

As a result, he was indicted for the murders of Tiffany Dotson, 18, and Amanda Benefield, 16, but he was never tried and later retracted his confession.

Investigators believed Tabler may have feared the girls might have implicated him in the initial shooting.

Richard Lee Tabler was put to death on Thursday (Texas Department of Criminal Justice)

Tabler was sentenced to death for Rahmouni and Zayed's murders, a punishment which he launched repeated appeals against. However, he then asked the courts to drop these as he wished to be executed, CBS News reports.

Questions were raised about whether the death row inmate was mentally competent to make this call, as he had attempted suicide twice while behind bars.

But after his final execution date was set, he said in a letter to the state Court of Criminal Appeals on 9 December, 2024: "Petitioner has spent the last twenty years in the Courts, and see's no point in wasting this Court's time, nor anyone else's."

Tabler was given a lethal injection at Texas' state penitentiary in Huntsville on Thursday. He was pronounced dead 15 minutes after it was administered at 6.38pm local time.

The families of his victims watched his final moments from a few feet away through a window.

While strapped to the gurney, Tabler took the opportunity to express remorse for his crimes while asking for forgiveness.

"There is not a day that goes by that I don't regret my actions," he said as he looked towards the crowd of relatives. "I had no right to take your loved ones from you, and I ask and pray, hope and pray, that one day you find it in your hearts to forgive me for those actions.

"No amount of my apologies will ever return them to you."

He asked his victims families for forgiveness in his final moments (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Tabler went on to praise prison officials for their compassion and giving him the 'opportunity to show you that I can change and become a better man and rehabilitate'.

He apologised several more times while explaining his death would mark the beginning of a new life for him in heaven, telling the warden: "I am finished."

As the lethal drugs began to take effect, Tabler mouthed 'I'm sorry' before taking his last breaths.

The father of 18-year-old Dotson, George, was among the witnesses and said of Tabler's execution: "I couldn't wait. It took me 20 years to get here."

Dotson's godfather, Tom Newton, added: "Today is for Tiffany. And this is justice."

Claudia Van Wyk, senior counsel at the ACLU's Capital Punishment Project, said that the killer was 'not the same person' as he was in 2004.

In a statement released ahead of his execution, she said: "He has transformed into a mentor and source of support for those around him.

"Richard has used his time on death row to reflect, create, and better himself. We are deeply saddened that Richard will be denied the chance to continue his growth and serve as a mentor to others.

"He will be missed by many, both inside and outside of prison, and our thoughts are with his loved ones."

Tabler's death comes just weeks after Steven Lawayne Nelson was executed in Texas, while his wife held their dog up to watch.