Texas executed Jamaal Howard on Wednesday evening after a last-minute bid by his attorneys to halt the lethal injection was rejected by a Texas court, ending his more than two decades on death row.
Howard was pronounced dead at 8:03 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He was executed by lethal injection after courts rejected multiple requests to stop the execution.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals first rejected his attorneys’ request to halt the procedure. Hours later, the U.S. Supreme Court also denied his final request for a stay. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she would have granted the stay, according to the court’s order.
Howard was convicted of capital murder in the killing of 42-year-old Vickie Swartout during a robbery at a convenience store in Silsbee, Texas.
Prosecutors said Howard, who was 20 at the time, shot Swartout once in the chest before taking $114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store. Evidence presented at trial included surveillance video that showed Howard shooting Swartout.
Howard’s attorneys had also argued that he was intellectually disabled and should not be executed. He made an unsuccessful appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court as his execution date approached.
The last-minute request to stop the execution focused on the drug Texas planned to use. His attorneys raised concerns about pentobarbital, the same drug used in a failed execution attempt involving Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike on Sept. 30.
Pike survived after 2 doses of pentobarbital were administered during her execution attempt. She was later hospitalized and spent several days unconscious and on a ventilator before becoming conscious and speaking again.
Before he was taken to the death chamber, Howard was described as “chatty” during the 45-mile trip from the death row prison to the Huntsville Unit, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson Amanda Hernandez.
“He made small talk with the officers through the whole trip,” Hernandez said.
Howard remained talkative after arriving at the prison, asking questions and staying engaged with officers, Hernandez said.
In his final statement, Howard apologized to Swartout’s family and asked for their forgiveness.
“Yes sir, so I apologize Swartout family for my cause the death of your loved one, and I wish you had closure and peace,” Howard said.
Howard’s execution made him the 30th person executed in the United States in 2026. Texas has now carried out 7 executions this year.