ARLINGTON, Texas — The 2011 robbery and murder of Rev. Clint Dobson, a beloved member of NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, left a deep scar on the community and shocked the entire North Texas region.
The man sentenced in the murder, Steven Nelson, is scheduled to be executed fourteen years later on Feb. 5, 2025.
"It's very easy to call him a monster," said Rev. Jeff Hood, Nelson's spiritual advisor. "But we're the monsters."
Hood wants to center the conversation around the death penalty.
Nelson was one of three men involved in the robbery-turned-homicide, but he is the only one facing the death penalty. Nelson's partner of five years, Noa Dubois, is also among those calling for a reexamination of the case. Both tell WFAA they are not excusing Nelson's involvement in the crime.
Prosecutors said Nelson entered the church and immediately attacked Dobson, allegedly knocking him out, binding him and then suffocating him by placing a trash can liner over his head.
"It was barbaric," Dubois said. "There was just so many things that don't make sense, he'd never have been able to do that."
Hood, who has witnessed the execution of eight individuals across the country, has become one of the loudest voices against the death penalty in this case and others.
"We're better than this," Hood remarked, calling for the state to reconsider its approach to justice. "The state of Texas is not gonna be any better having killed Steven Nelson."
Over the last several months, the state of Texas has seen several high-profile death penalty cases make headlines. Some of these cases have even led to new developments, with one potentially being overturned entirely.
As his execution date looms, Nelson's legal team continues to exhaust every available option, from appeals to the clemency board, in a desperate bid to save his life.
"Every day I'm going to fight...there's just no other way," said Dubois.