In brief
On Wednesday evening, Texas carried out the first U.S. execution of the year after a botched attempt on convict Christa Pike exposed flaws in the state’s lethal‑injection protocol. 46‑year‑old Jamaal Howard was shot with pentobarbital at Huntsville, a drug that had already caused controversy. Howard’s lawyers pleaded that the same drug posed serious risks and that the supply might be degraded, but courts denied all stays and the Supreme Court rejected a late appeal. In his final moment, Howard apologized to the family of slain clerk Vickie Swartout, asking for forgiveness.
In a stark continuation of Texas’s death‑row saga, 46‑year‑old Jamaal Howard was executed by lethal injection on Wednesday evening.
The execution marked the first U.S. death penalty carried out since state officials failed to kill convicted inmate Christa Pike earlier this week, a botched attempt that exposed flaws in the state’s lethal‑injection protocol.
Howard was convicted for the 2000 murder of convenience store clerk Vickie Swartout, who was shot during a robbery in which he also stole cash and cigarettes.
His attorneys argued that the use of pentobarbital – the same drug that proved ineffective in Pike’s case – posed serious risks, citing reports that the supply may have degraded, but courts denied all stay requests and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a late appeal.
In his final moments, Howard apologized to Swartout’s family, telling them, “I wish that you accept my apology, and I wish for your forgiveness. I’m sorry for what happened. I wish you can learn to forgive me one of these days.”
