Texas executes a condemned man one week after Christa Pike survived a botched lethal injection in Tennessee
Howard's lawyers unsuccessfully attempted to postpone his execution, citing precisely the case of the woman in Tennessee and the risks associated with the use of pentobarbital. The Supreme Court rejected his final appeal, paving the way for the Lone Star State to proceed with the lethal injection.
The "death chamber" at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Texas carried out the first execution by lethal injection in the United States on Wednesday since, a week ago, Christa Pike survived a botched execution attempt in Tennessee. Jamaal Howard, 46, was pronounced dead at 8:03 p.m. (local time) at the Huntsville State Prison, after receiving a lethal dose of pentobarbital. His case marks the 30th execution in the country so far in 2026.
The crime that landed him on death row
Howard was sentenced to death for the murder of Vickie Swartout, a 42-year-old store clerk, during a robbery at a convenience store in Silsbee, north of Beaumont, in 2000. He was 20 years old when he committed the crime, which was captured on surveillance video. Swartout was fatally shot during the robbery.
Last words and details of the execution
Before he died, Howard addressed a few words to his victim's family members, who were watching the scene through a window located a few meters from the execution chamber. "I'm sorry for what happened. I hope that someday you can learn to forgive me," he said.
According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Howard was administered an injection of pentobarbital, the same drug that had failed to kill Pike in Tennessee a week earlier.
Attempts to postpone the execution and national context
AFP reported that Howard's lawyers unsuccessfully attempted to postpone the execution, citing the Pike case and the risks associated with pentobarbital. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected their final appeal, thereby allowing Texas to carry out the lethal injection.
With Howard's death, Texas resumes executions at a time of intense public scrutiny regarding lethal injection protocols following the unprecedented precedent of a condemned prisoner surviving two doses of the drug.
The specter of the Pike case
Her attorneys claimed that the IV lines were not properly placed or that the veins had "burst," causing the drug to seep into the tissues and fail to produce a lethal effect.
Following the incident, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced a suspension of lethal-injection executions until the end of the year and ordered an independent review of the procedure. Pike, who according to her lawyers is awake but "confused and angry," has pneumonia and a blood clot and cannot move her arms or hands. A Nashville court has ordered the state to preserve all materials related to the failed attempt, including drugs, catheters, and the equipment used.
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