AUSTIN, Texas — A man from Texas is set to face execution following his conviction for the murders of a strip club manager and another man, a crime that led to significant repercussions within the Texas prison system. Richard Lee Tabler, 46, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Thursday at the state penitentiary located in Huntsville, marking him as the second inmate to be executed in Texas within a little over a week, with more executions planned before the end of April.
Tabler’s sentencing stems from a tragic incident that occurred on Thanksgiving in 2004, resulting in the deaths of Mohammed-Amine Rahmouni, 28, and Haitham Zayed, 25. Both shootings took place in a secluded area near Killeen, Texas. Rahmouni was the manager of a strip club where Tabler worked until he was banned; Zayed was Rahmouni’s friend. The two men were reportedly ambushed under the pretense of purchasing stolen stereo equipment during a late-night meeting.
In addition to his conviction for these murders, Tabler also admitted to killing two teenage girls, Tiffany Dotson, 18, and Amanda Benefield, 16, who were employed at the same strip club. Although he was indicted for their deaths, he was never put on trial.
Throughout the legal proceedings, Tabler has frequently requested to waive his appeals and proceed to execution. However, he has fluctuated in his stance regarding the death penalty, which raised concerns among his legal counsel about his mental competency to make such an important decision. Tabler’s history in prison includes at least two attempted suicides, and he was previously granted a stay of execution in 2010.
In a letter to the state Court of Criminal Appeals dated December 9, 2024, he expressed frustration over what he perceived as inefficiency in the court system, stating, “Petitioner has spent the last twenty years in the Courts, and sees no point in wasting this Court’s time, nor anyone else’s.”
The situation escalated in 2008 when Tabler made threatening phone calls from death row to state Senator John Whitmire, who currently serves as the mayor of Houston. This incident sparked an extraordinary lockdown affecting more than 150,000 inmates in Texas’ extensive prison system. During this lockdown, numerous prisons underwent inspections to confiscate contraband, including illegal cellphones, with some inmates being confined to their cells for several weeks as a precaution.
Whitmire, at the time overseeing a Senate committee responsible for prison regulation, reported that Tabler threatened him with knowledge of his children’s identities and addresses. Regarding Tabler’s upcoming execution, a spokesperson for Whitmire declined to provide comments.
In 2022, the ACLU appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tabler’s behalf, indicating he had received inadequate legal representation during his previous court appeals due to attorneys who allegedly declined to attend hearings at his request. This appeal emphasized a psychological evaluation noting that Tabler had a “deep and severe constellation of mental illnesses” that had previously been overlooked. However, the court ultimately refused to stay his execution.
Formerly employed at a bar named TeaZers, Tabler reportedly had a conflict with his boss, Rahmouni. According to investigators, Rahmouni threatened Tabler, suggesting a price of $10 to have his family killed. Tabler subsequently enlisted the help of a friend, who was a soldier stationed at nearby Fort Cavazos, to lure Rahmouni and Zayed for a meeting. Once there, Tabler shot them while they were in a vehicle, then forcibly removed Rahmouni and had his accomplice film as he shot Rahmouni again.
Afterward, Tabler confessed to the crimes. During his trial’s sentencing phase, prosecutors presented video and written statements where he claimed responsibility for the murder of Dotson and Benefield days later due to his anxiety that they might disclose what he had done. Reports indicated that prior to his capture, Tabler called the Bell County Sheriff’s Office, taunting them about the murders while issuing threats to harm additional strip club employees and undercover law enforcement officers.
