Richard Lee Tabler to be executed in Texas 1 hour after Florida execution. What to know.

Two men are set to be executed within an hour of each other in the U.S. on Thursday.

Texas is planning to execute Richard Lee Tabler for the double murder of two men in 2004. An hour before that, Florida is planning to execute James Dennis Ford for killing a young couple in front of their toddler daughter in 1997.

It's not the first time the U.S. has held two same-day executions. It happened twice last year alone in the country that executed more of its citizens than all but three other countries in 2023: Iran, Saudi Arabia and Somalia, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Tabler's execution on Thursday comes 20 years after he went on a killing spree in the central Texas city of Killeen, gunning down four people in two days.

Here's what you need to know about his execution Thursday. You can read more about Ford's execution here.

What was Richard Lee Tabler convicted of?

At 25 years old, Tabler was living a chaotic life. The central California native had been stealing cars, running drugs and doing them, and had done some hard prison time. Tabler would try to get his life straight but it would never stick.

After bouncing around the country between Florida, California, Oregon, Michigan and parts in between, Tabler ended up in Killeen, Texas, where his mother and older sister were living.

In a fit of rage on Nov. 27, 2004, Tabler shot and killed Mohamed-Amine Rahmouni, the co-owner of a local strip club with whom he'd been dealing, as well as a friend of Amine's, Haitham Frank Zayed. Two days later, Tabler shot and killed 18-year-old Tiffany Loraine Dotson, a dancer at the club he says he'd been seeing, and another dancer, 16-year-old Amanda Benefield.

Tabler wrote in his 2021 book, "Within the Shadows of Life," that he gunned down the men over Amine's threat to kill Tabler's loved ones for $10. Tabler said he killed the young women after Dotson started asking him questions about the murders.

"The murder of the men was as cold-blooded as it could be," Paul McWilliams, who prosecuted Tabler nearly two decades ago, told Paste BN on Wednesday. "The killing of the girls was just senseless. There was absolutely no reason for that."

Tabler, who is now 46, was convicted of killing the men and sentenced to death, so prosecutors didn't need to pursue the conviction for the young women's murders, though their families got to speak about the impact of their loss during the sentencing, McWilliams said.

Family members of the victims didn't respond to Paste BN's request to speak with them, made through the Bell County District Attorney's Office.

When and where will Richard Lee Tabler's execution be?

Tabler's execution is set for 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET at a state prison in Huntsville, Texas, just north of Houston.

Who is Richard Lee Tabler today?

During his 20 years behind bars, Tabler says he's found God and leads a ministry of Death Row inmates. He draws serene landscapes and has written several books, which include advice for young people about how not to end up like him.

Tabler's mother, sister and wife − who all spoke exclusively with Paste BN − say that he has turned into a loving and selfless man who doesn't deserve to die. The women spoke on the condition that their names not be used because they have previously faced harassment as loved ones of a Death Row inmate.

"The Richard that I know is not the man that they portray to be a monster," said his wife, who met Tabler through an prison letter-writing program. "I've never met anybody, even out here in the free world, that has a heart bigger than his."

Meanwhile, Tabler says he deeply regrets his crimes and is at peace with his upcoming death.

"I'm unable to get over the hatred for myself, for the pain I caused so many and my loved ones," he wrote in "Within the Shadows of Life."

In a statement provided to Paste BN through his wife, Tabler owned up to what he did.

"I take full responsibility for my actions of 20 years ago, and sadly, I can't go back in time and just walk away," he said, adding that he has accepted his fate.

"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."

Who will witness Richard Lee Tabler's execution?

Both Tabler's mother and sister will be among those witnessing his execution despite how painful they know it will be.

"He didn't want us to be at the execution," his sister told Paste BN. "And I'm like, 'No, we're gonna be there.' My mom's point was, 'You're not gonna die alone. I want our faces to be the last faces you see.'"