A Texas man convicted of killing a convenience store clerk during a robbery was executed Wednesday evening after the Supreme Court declined to halt the execution, despite his attorneys raising concerns about the lethal injection drug used in a failed execution attempt in Tennessee last week.Jamaal 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.Prior to Howard's execution, his attorneys pointed to the failed execution of Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike, who survived two doses of pentobarbital on Sept.
30, arguing that the same drug Texas planned to use could pose similar risks."Texas should not be eager to follow in Tennessee’s footsteps; a stay would keep that from happening," Howard's attorneys argued in their filing.CHRISTA PIKE'S ATTORNEYS SAY SHE'S IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER BOTCHED LETHAL INJECTIONSThe U.S.Supreme Court declined to halt Jamaal Howard's execution after his attorneys raised concerns about the lethal injection drug used by Texas.
(Texas Department of Criminal Justice; AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)The Supreme Court rejected Howard's emergency appeal without explanation.Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only justice to publicly dissent, Fox News reported.The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had previously rejected two requests to stop the execution based on concerns about the drug's use.According to The Associated Press, as the pentobarbital began taking effect Wednesday evening, Howard took a couple of breaths and gasped.Howard then began making snoring sounds, coughed and resumed the snoring sounds, which grew progressively quieter.
His movements reportedly stopped entirely after around 30 seconds, and he was pronounced dead 19 minutes later.CHRISTA PIKE’S BOTCHED LETHAL INJECTION TAKES FOCUS OFF VICTIM, JEOPARDIZES EXECUTION: FORMER POLICE CHIEFJamaal Howard, 46, was executed in Texas on Oct.7, 2026, for the 2000 killing of convenience store ...