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Texas executes Jamaal Howard after Pike case
BBC News··4d ago
Texas executed Jamaal Howard by lethal injection on Wednesday evening in Huntsville. He was pronounced dead at 20:03 local time after pentobarbital. Courts denied a pause sought after Christa Pike’s failed injections last week. Howard, 46, was sentenced for the 2000 murder of clerk Vickie Swartout, 42. He apologised to her family in a final statement.
Prism
What It Means For You
- This was the first US execution since Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute Christa Pike.
- Texas has executed six people so far in 2026 and has two more planned this year.
- Howard’s lawyers argued the same pentobarbital risks raised in Pike’s case.
What's Happening
- The US Supreme Court turned down Howard’s appeal late Wednesday.
- Governor Greg Abbott did not grant a 30-day delay sought by Howard’s attorneys.
- Howard was 20 when he shot Swartout during a robbery and stole cigarettes and $114.
What preceded the Huntsville execution
- Pike, 50, survived two pentobarbital doses on Sept. 30 in Tennessee.
- Her lawyers said she was awake and speaking by Tuesday, October 6.
- Reports said Howard became the 30th person executed in the US this year.
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