Texas set to execute Jamaal Howard as lawyers seek stay over injection drug
Version 2: Howard's lawyers are now reported to be asking a judge to stay the execution over the pentobarbital supply and Tennessee's failed attempt, and reporting adds that Texas's execution chamber is in Huntsville.
In short
Texas is set to execute Jamaal Howard, 46, by lethal injection on Wednesday for the 2000 fatal shooting of convenience store clerk Vickie Swartout, 42, during a robbery in Silsbee. It would be the 30th execution in the U.S. this year and the first scheduled since Tennessee's failed attempt to execute Christa Pike last week. CNN reported Howard's lawyers are asking a judge to stay the execution, arguing the pentobarbital Texas plans to use carries the same risks as the drug used in Tennessee, while an appeal over his intellectual disability claim is pending at the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Texas is set to execute Jamaal Howard, 46, by lethal injection on Wednesday for the 2000 killing of convenience store clerk Vickie Swartout, 42. According to the documents, he is to receive a lethal dose of pentobarbital, and the execution would be the nation's 30th this year and the first scheduled in the U.S. since Tennessee's failed attempt to put Christa Pike to death last week. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]
CNN reported that Howard's lawyers are asking a judge to stay the execution because the same drug planned for him, pentobarbital, was used in Tennessee. His attorneys argued that the drug poses the same risks and said they believe Texas's supply has become degraded, writing that there is a similar risk that Texas's execution drugs are likewise degraded because they are far past the beyond-use dates the pharmacopeia allows. The New York Times said Howard's lawyers are seeking information about the lethal injection drug. According to CNN, Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital, was hospitalized and as of Tuesday was awake and speaking; her attorneys have alleged blown veins, deteriorated pentobarbital in Tennessee and a lack of emergency medical care. [ 5 , 6 ]
Howard was found guilty of capital murder in Swartout's death. She was shot once in the chest during a robbery at a store in Silsbee, a small, rural town about 100 miles (161 kilometers) northeast of Houston. Evidence presented at trial included the store's surveillance video, which the documents say showed Howard shooting Swartout. Court records cited in the accounts state that Howard, who was 20 at the time, took $114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
His attorneys have argued that Howard is intellectually disabled and that his execution should be halted. The state said he has not presented evidence that would show he meets the requirements for a claim of intellectual disability. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution is pending, and the documents report no ruling on it. The Supreme Court in 2002 barred the execution of intellectually disabled people, but the documents say it has given states some discretion in how they determine such disabilities. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
Texas has executed six people so far this year, with two more scheduled after Howard, while Florida has carried out 16 executions this year, the most of any state. Most states that allow executions use lethal injection as their primary method, according to the accounts. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
Why it matters
The case is the latest test of how states apply the Supreme Court's 2002 bar on executing intellectually disabled people, a standard the documents say leaves states discretion. It also puts the drug used in lethal injections under scrutiny after Tennessee's failed attempt, with Howard's lawyers in CNN's account questioning whether Texas's pentobarbital supply is still usable, while Texas has two more executions scheduled after his.
Key facts
- Jamaal Howard, 46, was found guilty of capital murder in the 2000 killing of Vickie Swartout, 42, who was shot once in the chest. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]
- Howard is set to die by lethal injection on Wednesday and would receive a lethal dose of pentobarbital. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- The execution would be the 30th in the U.S. this year and the first scheduled since Tennessee's failed attempt to execute Christa Pike last week. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]
- Swartout was shot during a robbery at a store in Silsbee, a small rural town about 100 miles northeast of Houston. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- Howard, then 20, took $114 and a carton of cigarettes, according to court records, and trial evidence included store surveillance video of the shooting. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- His attorneys argue he is intellectually disabled and should not be executed; the state said he has not presented evidence meeting the requirements for such a claim. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution is pending, and attorneys for Howard are also asking a judge to stay it, citing the failed execution in Tennessee. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- Texas has executed six people so far this year, with two more scheduled after Howard, and Florida has carried out 16, the most of any state. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Howard, 46, was convicted of capital murder in the 2000 killing of Vickie Swartout, 42, who was shot once in the chest. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- He is set to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday using pentobarbital, in what would be the nation's 30th execution this year. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- It would be the first scheduled execution in the U.S. since Tennessee's failed attempt to put Christa Pike to death last week, after which her attorneys said Tuesday she was awake and speaking while receiving treatment at a hospital. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- The killing took place during a robbery at a store in Silsbee, about 100 miles northeast of Houston, where surveillance video showed the shooting. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- Howard, who was 20 at the time, took $114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store, according to court records. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- His attorneys have argued he is intellectually disabled and his execution should be halted; the state said he has not presented evidence meeting the requirements for a claim of intellectual disability. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution is pending. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- Texas has executed six people so far this year, with two more scheduled after Howard, and Florida has carried out 16 executions this year, the most of any state. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- The Supreme Court in 2002 barred the execution of intellectually disabled people but has given states some discretion in how they determine such disabilities. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the execution will go ahead as scheduled on Wednesday. The documents say a Supreme Court appeal and a request for a stay are pending and report no ruling on either.
- How courts will resolve the dispute over whether Howard meets the requirements for a claim of intellectual disability. The defense and the state give opposing positions, and the documents report no ruling on the question.
- Whether Texas's supply of pentobarbital has degraded, as Howard's attorneys claim. CNN reports the claim that the drug is far past the beyond-use dates allowed for such drugs; no other document in this set carries it, and Texas's response to it is not reported.
- The circumstances of Christa Pike's failed execution, including the allegation of blown veins and two doses of pentobarbital. These details appear only in CNN's account, attributed to Pike's attorneys.
- The location of the execution. Only The New York Times mentions Texas's execution chamber in Huntsville; the other documents give no facility or city, and the datelines read Dallas.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The Associated Press reports that Texas is set to execute Jamaal Howard on Wednesday, which would be the nation's 30th execution this year. [ 1 ]
- The Seattle Times publishes the same account, including Howard's attorneys' argument that he is intellectually disabled. [ 2 ]
- The New York Post publishes the account, noting Howard's pending appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. [ 3 ]
- ABC News publishes the account with the same details on the conviction, Silsbee robbery and pending appeal. [ 4 ]
- CNN reports that Howard's lawyers are asking a judge to stay the execution, arguing Texas's pentobarbital carries the same risks as the drug used in Tennessee's failed attempt. [ 5 ]
- The New York Times reports that Howard's lawyers are seeking information about the lethal injection drug, the same medication used in Tennessee, and notes Texas's execution chamber in Huntsville. [ 6 ]
- PBS NewsHour publishes the Associated Press account of the scheduled execution. [ 7 ]