A Texas man, Jamaal Howard, was executed by lethal injection, becoming the 30th person executed in the US this year and the first since a failed attempt in Tennessee last week. Howard apologized to his victim's family before his death.
Jamaal Howard, 46, was executed in Texas for the 2000 murder of convenience store worker Vickie Swartout, making him the 30th person executed in the US this year. This execution was notable as it was the first since Tennessee's failed attempt to execute Christa Pike a week prior, where she survived two doses of pentobarbital. Howard was pronounced dead at 8:03 pm after receiving a fatal dose of pentobarbital at Huntsville state prison. In his final statement, Howard profusely apologized to his victim's family, requesting their forgiveness, and expressed love to his own family and friends. His execution proceeded despite his attorneys' unsuccessful attempts to block it, arguing intellectual disability and concerns about the execution drugs' quality, citing similarities to Pike's case as both states use pentobarbital. Surveillance video had shown Howard shooting Swartout during the robbery. Texas has carried out seven executions this year, with two more planned, while Florida leads with 16. Tennessee's governor has since halted the state's remaining scheduled execution for the year.
