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Texas set to carry out 1st execution in US since Christa Pike botch
USA Today • • nation
Key Points:
- Texas plans to execute Jamaal Howard by lethal injection on October 7, marking the first U.S. execution since Tennessee's recent botched lethal injection of Christa Pike, despite concerns over the drug's efficacy and Howard's intellectual disability claims.
- Howard was convicted for the 2000 murder of Chevron clerk Vickie Swartout during a robbery in Silsbee, Texas, and his execution would be the seventh in Texas this year and the 30th nationwide.
- Howard's attorneys have requested a 30-day reprieve from Texas Governor Greg Abbott to investigate the pentobarbital drug's procurement and testing, citing risks highlighted by recent failed executions in Tennessee.
- The U.S. Supreme Court was petitioned to halt the execution based on Howard's intellectual disability, with lawyers arguing his IQ is as low as 70, though the state has dismissed these claims as untimely and meritless.
- The victim's mother, who passed away in 2024, previously supported the death sentence, expressing devastation over her daughter's murder but sympathy for Howard's family.
