A Texas man who killed his former strip club manager and another man—and later caused a massive state prison lockdown after making threats with a smuggled phone—was executed on Thursday night.
Richard Lee Tabler, 46, was put to death by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. The execution took place at 6:38 p.m. Central time, just 15 minutes after a powerful sedative called pentobarbital was administered.
Strapped to the gurney in the death chamber, Tabler addressed the families of his victims, who watched through a window just a few feet away. “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t regret my actions,” he said. “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.” He continued apologizing and expressed love for his family, lawyers, and supporters. He also thanked prison officials for treating him with compassion and giving him “the opportunity to show you that I can change.”
After one final apology, he told the warden, “I am finished.” As the drugs took effect, he mouthed “I’m sorry” one last time, took several quick breaths, and then stopped moving.
Tabler was convicted of killing Mohammed-Amine Rahmouni, 28, and Haitham Zayed, 25, on Thanksgiving night in 2004. The murders happened in a remote area near Killeen, Texas. Rahmouni was the manager of a strip club called TeaZers, where Tabler had worked before being banned. Zayed was a friend of Rahmouni. Authorities said Tabler lured them to a fake meeting under the pretense of buying stolen stereo equipment, then ambushed and shot them.
Tabler later admitted to killing two teenage girls who worked at the club—Tiffany Dotson, 18, and Amanda Benefield, 16—because he feared they would talk about the murders. He was indicted for their deaths but never put on trial.
Tiffany Dotson’s father, George, was present at the execution but said he needed time to process everything. “I couldn’t wait,” he said. “It took me 20 years to get here.” Her godfather, Tom Newton, added, “Today is for Tiffany. And this is justice.”
Tabler had a long and complicated legal history. He repeatedly asked to end his appeals and be executed but changed his mind several times. His attorneys argued he wasn’t mentally competent to make that decision. Over the years, he attempted suicide at least twice and was granted a temporary stay of execution in 2010. However, in December 2024, he wrote to the state Court of Criminal Appeals, saying, “Petitioner has spent the last twenty years in the Courts, and sees no point in wasting this Court’s time, nor anyone else’s.”
One of the most notorious moments of Tabler’s life behind bars came in 2008 when he managed to get hold of a smuggled cellphone while on death row. Using it, he made threatening calls to state Senator John Whitmire, who is now the mayor of Houston. Tabler told Whitmire that he knew his children’s names and where they lived. The threats led to a massive lockdown of more than 150,000 inmates across Texas. Prison officials searched over 100 facilities and confiscated hundreds of contraband items, including more smuggled phones. Whitmire, through a spokesperson, declined to comment on Tabler’s execution.
Tabler’s case reached the U.S. Supreme Court last year when the American Civil Liberties Union argued that he had been denied proper legal representation. The appeal claimed that his lawyers ignored a psychological evaluation that showed he had serious mental illnesses dating back to childhood. However, the Supreme Court declined to stop the execution.
The investigation into Tabler’s crimes revealed chilling details. After being banned from the club, he allegedly got into an argument with Rahmouni, who supposedly said he could have Tabler’s family “wiped out” for $10. In response, Tabler recruited Timothy Payne, a soldier from Fort Cavazos, to help set up the ambush. Tabler shot Rahmouni and Zayed while they sat in their car, then pulled Rahmouni out and had Payne record a video of him firing another shot.
Before his arrest, Tabler even taunted police, calling the Bell County Sheriff’s Office to brag about the murders and threaten more killings at the club, including undercover officers.
His execution was one of several scheduled in Texas this year. He was the second person executed in just over a week, and two more executions are set to take place before the end of April.
On the same day in Florida, another execution took place. A man convicted of murdering a couple while their toddler watched during a fishing trip was put to death by lethal injection—the first execution in Florida this year.
