“I couldn’t wait,” he admitted. “It took me 20 years to get here.”
Dotson’s godfather, Tom Newton, saw it as justice served. “Today is for Tiffany,” he said. “And this is justice.”
Infamous Prisoner on Death Row
In 2008, Tabler caused a major security breach in the Texas prison system when he smuggled a cell phone into death row and made threatening calls to then-state Senator John Whitmire, who is now the mayor of Houston. This incident led to a system-wide lockdown affecting over 150,000 inmates.
During his sentencing, prosecutors presented Tabler’s written and recorded confessions, in which he admitted to killing Dotson and Benefield because he feared they would expose his role in the men’s murders.
Tabler’s execution brings closure to the victims’ families, marking the end of a case that had spanned two decades. While his remorse was evident in his final moments, the families of those he killed found solace in the long-awaited justice.
