Texas executed convicted killer Jamaal Howard on Wednesday night, just days after Tennessee inmate Christa Pike survived two doses of the same lethal-injection drug during a botched execution.
Howard was pronounced dead at a Texas prison after receiving pentobarbital. The execution came after his attorneys unsuccessfully sought to halt it, arguing that Texas’ supply of the drug could have deteriorated and potentially created risks similar to those alleged in Pike’s execution.
Howard’s final words were directed toward the family of Vickie Swartout, the convenience-store clerk he was convicted of killing during a 2000 robbery.
“I wish that you accept my apology and I wish for your forgiveness,” Howard said, according to the account of his final statement. “I’m sorry for what happened. I wish you can learn to forgive me one of these days.”
Swartout’s family watched the execution from a viewing room near the death chamber.
According to trial evidence cited in the case, surveillance footage showed Howard shooting Swartout in the chest before taking $114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store.
Howard’s execution drew additional attention because it followed Pike’s failed lethal injection in Tennessee on September 30.
Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital during that execution. Her attorney has said lawyers believed she was brain dead Monday night, only for Pike to unexpectedly regain consciousness and begin speaking.
Her legal team has blamed the incident on blown veins, deteriorated drugs and what they described as inadequate emergency medical care. Following the incident, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee halted the state’s remaining scheduled execution for the year.
Howard’s attorneys had raised concerns about the condition of Texas’ pentobarbital supply, but the execution proceeded Wednesday night.
As the drug took effect, Howard gasped, coughed and made snoring sounds before his movements stopped. He was pronounced dead 19 minutes after the injection.
The execution marked a stark contrast with Pike’s case, where the lethal-injection process failed to produce death despite two doses of pentobarbital.
For Howard, the final moments centered on an apology to the family of the woman whose death put him on death row nearly three decades ago.
