Texas Executes Jamaal Howard Amid Concerns Over Lethal Injection Drug

<p>Jamaal Howard, a Texas man convicted of killing a convenience store clerk during a robbery, was executed on Wednesday evening after the Supreme Court declined to halt the execution. His attorneys raised concerns about the lethal injection drug used in a recent failed execution attempt in Tennessee.</p><p>Howard, 46, was pronounced dead at 8:03 p.m. He was sentenced to death for the 2000 killing of 42-year-old Vickie Swartout in Silsbee, Texas.</p><p>Before the execution, Howard's attorneys cited the failed execution of Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike, who survived two doses of pentobarbital on September 30. They argued that the same drug Texas planned to use could pose similar risks.</p><p>“Texas should not be eager to follow in Tennessee’s footsteps; a stay would keep that from happening,” Howard's attorneys stated in their filing.</p><p>The Supreme Court rejected Howard's emergency appeal without explanation, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson being the only justice to publicly dissent, according to reports.</p><p>The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had previously denied two requests to stop the execution based on concerns about the drug's use.</p><p>As the pentobarbital began to take effect, Howard reportedly took a couple of breaths and gasped. He then made snoring sounds, coughed, and the sounds gradually diminished. His movements ceased entirely after approximately 30 seconds, and he was pronounced dead 19 minutes later.</p><p>Howard's attorneys also requested information regarding the dose of pentobarbital that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice planned to use for the execution.</p><p>The concerns were partly related to Pike's execution attempt, during which she survived two doses of pentobarbital. Howard's execution occurred on the same day a Tennessee judge granted a request from Pike's attorneys to order the Tennessee Department of Correction to preserve evidence related to the failed execution attempt.</p><p>According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Pike is the first person to survive a lethal injection in the modern era.</p><p>Howard's attorneys also argued that his execution should be halted due to claims of intellectual disability. However, the state contended that his attorneys did not present sufficient evidence to establish that he met the legal criteria for intellectual disability.</p><p>Howard was convicted of capital murder in the killing of Swartout, who was shot once in the chest during the robbery. At the time, Howard was 20 years old and also took $114 from the cash register during the incident.</p>