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Texas has carried out the first execution in the US since Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike survived a failed lethal injection last week.
Jamaal Howard, 46, received a fatal dose of pentobarbital at the state prison in Huntsville and was pronounced dead at 8:03 pm. Howard had been convicted of shooting and killing 42-year-old clerk Vickie Swartout in a convenience store robbery in Silsbee, Texas, in 2000.
Howard is said to have gasped and taken a few breaths as the drug took effect, before making snoring sounds and coughing. All movement stopped within around 30 seconds, and he was pronounced dead 19 minutes later.
Before the execution took place, Howard addressed some members of Swartout’s family, apologising and asking for forgiveness.
“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.”
He added that he was “in a good state of mind to find peace and the Lord, so I thank y’all.”
“Hey, enjoy life, and peace to y’all.”
Howard’s attorneys had unsuccessfully attempted to halt the execution, filing a motion before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals questioning the quality of Texas’ execution drugs. They also argued to the Supreme Court that the execution should not go ahead because Howard was intellectually disabled.
The Texas court denied the request relating to the drugs and a second filing without comment.
The Supreme Court has barred the execution of intellectually disabled people, but it has given states some discretion in determining such disabilities. The state told the court that Howard’s attorneys did not provide evidence that would show he met the requirements to claim intellectual disability.
The high court also declined to intervene without comment late on Wednesday, clearing the way for the execution to go ahead.
The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, an advocacy organisation campaigning to end the death penalty in Texas, had called on people to urge Texas Governor Greg Abbott to insist on a reprieve for Howard, so that his lawyers could “obtain critical records from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice about when the drug was bought, how it was stored, and what testing was done and when.”
Including Howard, Texas has executed seven people so far this year, up from five in both 2025 and 2024. A further two executions are scheduled to take place in November – death row inmates John Rubio and Reinaldo Dennes.
Additional sources • AP