In brief
In Houston, Texas carried out the execution of Mr. Jamaal Howard by lethal injection, marking the first death in the United States since the botched execution of Christa Pike there last week. Howard’s lawyers argued that the same pentobarbital drug used on Pike had degraded and posed identical risks, but both state and federal courts denied their appeals. Governor Greg Abbott refused to grant a requested delay, and the execution proceeded at the Huntsville prison at 20:03 local time. Howard, 46, stood convicted for a 2000 convenience‑store murder and issued a brief apology to the victim’s family before his death.
A death row inmate was executed by lethal injection on Wednesday evening in Texas, marking the first execution in the United States since the failed attempt to put Christa Pike to death last week.
Lawyers for 46‑year‑old Jamaal Howard had asked a judge to pause the execution in light of Pike’s botched injections, but courts denied their requests.
Howard received a fatal dose of pentobarbital at the state prison in Huntsville, where he was pronounced dead at 20:03 local time.
The inmate was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2000 murder of a convenience store clerk during a robbery he committed.
His attorneys argued that using the same drug—pentobarbital—posed the same risks and that the state’s supply had degraded, mirroring Pike’s case.
Courts twice denied the appeals, and the United States Supreme Court also turned down the case late Wednesday.
“Texas should not be eager to follow in Tennessee’s footsteps; a stay would keep that from happening,” Howard’s attorneys said.
They also asked Texas Governor Greg Abbott to delay the execution by 30 days for more information on the drug, but the governor refused.
Howard was 20 when he shot Vickie Swartout, 42, a convenience‑store clerk, stealing a carton of cigarettes and $114.
Asked for a final statement before his execution, Howard apologized to Swartout’s family, who watched from a witness room.
“I wish that you accept my apology, and I wish for your forgiveness,” he said. “I’m sorry for what happened. I wish you can learn to forgive me one of these days.”
