Texas carries out nation’s first execution since Christa Pike’s failed lethal injection
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas man who fatally shot a convenience store clerk was put to death Wednesday evening, becoming the 30th person executed in the U.S. this year and the first since Tennessee’s failed attempt to administer a lethal injection to Christa Pike a week ago.
Jamaal Howard, 46, was pronounced dead at 8:03 p.m., 19 minutes after he began receiving a fatal dose of pentobarbital at the state prison in Huntsville. He was convicted of killing of Vickie Swartout, 42, in a 2000 store robbery caught on surveillance video.
Asked by the warden if he had a final statement, Howard apologized profusely to some members of his victim’s family, who watched through a window just feet from the death chamber.
“I wish that you accept my apology and I wish for your forgiveness,” he said, shortly before the injection got underway. “I’m sorry for what happened. I wish you can learn to forgive me one of these days.”
He also thanked his friends and family and said he loved them, adding he was “in a good state of mind to find peace and the Lord, so I thank y’all.” He concluded with: "Hey, enjoy life, and peace to y’all.”
As the pentobarbital began taking effect, Howard took a couple of breaths and gasped. He then began making snoring sounds, coughed and resumed the snoring sounds, each time the sound becoming quieter. Within about 30 seconds, all movement stopped.
He was pronounced dead 19 minutes later.
His sister was among witnesses watching through a window from an adjacent room and became distraught, exclaiming several times: “Get me out of here.” She was assisted by corrections officers in exiting the witness room.
Texas has executed six people so far in 2026 and plans two more executions later this year.
Earlier Wednesday, Howard’s attorneys unsuccessfully sought to block the execution by arguing that he was intellectual disabled and that he faced risks similar to those in Pike's case because both states use pentobarbital for lethal injections.
Pike’s lawyers continue to seek more information about what went wrong after the 50-year-old woman survived two doses of pentobarbital on Sept. 30. Her lawyers said she was unconscious at a hospital after the attempt but was awake and speaking by Tuesday.
Earlier Wednesday, Howard was “chatty” during the 45-mile (70-kilometer) drive from the death row prison to the Huntsville Unit, where executions are carried out, said Amanda Hernandez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
“He made small talk with the officers through the whole trip” before being taken to a holding cell near the death chamber, she said. “He was asking questions and was very engaged in the process.”
Howard was convicted of capital murder in the killing of Swartout, who was shot once in the chest during the robbery. Evidence presented at trial included surveillance video showing Howard shooting Swartout.
Howard, who was 20 at the time, took $114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store in Silsbee, a small, rural town about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Houston, according to court records.
In bidding to halt Howard's execution, his attorneys had filed a motion hours earlier before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals raising concerns about the quality of Texas’ execution drugs. The court denied that request and a second filing involving the drugs without comment.
His attorneys also argued unsuccessfully to the U.S. Supreme Court that Howard’s execution should be halted because he was intellectually disabled. The Supreme Court in 2002 had barred the execution of intellectually disabled people, though it gave states some discretion in determining such disabilities.
The state told the court that Howard's lawyers did not present evidence that would show he meets the requirements for a claim of intellectual disability.
The high court late Wednesday declined to intervene, without comment, clearing the way for the execution.
Florida has carried out 16 executions so far this year, the most of any state. Most states that allow executions use lethal injection as their primary method.
Tennessee’s Republican Gov. Bill Lee has halted the one remaining execution that was scheduled to be carried out in his state this year.
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Stengle reported from Fort Worth, Texas.
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