The execution

Jamaal Howard, 46, was executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville state prison in Texas on Wednesday evening, and was pronounced dead at 20:03 after receiving pentobarbital. Howard was convicted of fatally shooting Vickie Swartout, a 42-year-old convenience store clerk, during a robbery in 2000, and was sentenced to death in 2001. According to court records, he was 20 when he took $114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store. The execution was the 30th carried out in the United States in 2026. Members of Swartout's family watched from behind a window a few metres from the death chamber.

Final words

Asked whether he had a last statement, Howard apologised to members of the victim's family. Before the injection began, he said:

“I hope you accept my apologies and I hope for your forgiveness.”

He added that he was sorry for what had happened and hoped they could one day learn to forgive him. He said he was calm and ready to find peace and the Lord, and ended by telling those present to enjoy life. According to VRT NWS, Howard breathed a few more times after the drug was administered, but no movement was visible after 30 seconds. His pastor, Jeff Hood, who accompanied him, said Howard managed to start his apology before his words caught in his throat, a moment Hood described as heartbreaking.

Appeals rejected

Howard's lawyers argued that he faced the same risks as Pike because Texas planned to use the same drug, pentobarbital. They also argued that the state's supply had "degraded" and was "far past the original beyond-use dates". The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected the stay requests without elaboration. Howard's lawyers also argued unsuccessfully at the US Supreme Court that he was intellectually disabled, and both appeals were turned down on Wednesday night. Lawyers asked Republican Governor Greg Abbott to delay the execution by 30 days to seek more information on the drug, but he did not agree to a delay.

Christa Pike in Tennessee

Christa Pike, 50, survived an attempted execution in Tennessee on 30 September after two doses of pentobarbital. She was convicted at 18 of killing classmate Colleen Slemmer in 1995, and would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years. Her lawyer, Randy Spivey, said she woke up asking "Where am I and who are you?" Her lawyers said she has pneumonia, a blood clot in one arm and cannot swallow yet, and that she remains in critical care.

“I think she is angry and confused about everything right now.”

Her lawyers said on Tuesday evening that she is conscious and speaking, and that she remains handcuffed and shackled to the bed despite severe damage to her arms. A judge in Nashville has ordered the state of Tennessee to preserve records, emails, drugs, syringes and other medical materials from the death chamber.