Man on death row uttered desperate last words just moments before being executed
Richard Lee Tabler was killed by lethal injection in a Texas penitentiary on Thursday (13 February)
A man on death row who murdered two people made a desperate plea to his victims' families before he was executed this week.
Richard Lee Tabler, who hailed from Texas, killed his strip club manager Mohammed-Amine Rahmouni, 28 and another man, Haitham Zayed, 25, in 2004.
He claimed in his book published in 2021, Within the Shadows of Life, that he gunned down the men over Amine's threat to kill Tabler's loved ones for $10.
The 46-year-old also confessed to killing two teenage girls who worked at the club, Tiffany Dotson, 18, and Amanda Benefield, 16.
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He was indicted but never tried in their killings.
On Thursday of this week (13 February), Tabler was given a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
The time of Tabler's death was 6:38 p.m. CST, 15 minutes after a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital was administered in his arms.
He looked at the relatives of his victims as he was strapped to the death chamber gurney, who watched the execution through a window a mere few feet away.
"There is not a day that goes by that I don’t regret my actions," Tabler began.
The convicted killer continued: "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."
Tabler went on to express love to his family and friends, lawyers and supporters before thanking prison officials for their compassion and 'the opportunity to show you that I can change and become a better man and rehabilitate'.
After apologising several more times and saying this was the beginning of a new life for him in heaven, Tabler told the warden: "I am finished."
As the drugs began, he once again mouthed the words 'I'm sorry' then began breathing quickly.
After about a dozen breaths, all movement stopped.
In a statement provided to USA TODAY through his wife, Tabler said he was at peace with his death.
"A lot of people cannot understand how I can have such peace and joy in my heart in the face of my own death, but I know it’s the strength, grace and mercy of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has been with me every step of the way," he said.
"The day of my execution is the beginning of my real life."
Tabler is the fifth death row inmate executed in 2025 and the second one in Texas this year.
As many as 12 executions are scheduled for the rest of the year but that number is expected to go up.
Rhiannon Ingle