Daniel Wolfram
Executions continue in Texas as Christa Pike wakes up from her botched execution in Tennessee.
A Texas state prison in Huntsville carried out the latest execution in the US on Wednesday evening. The state prison killed 46-year-old Jamaal Howard by lethal injection.
This marked the first execution carried out in the US since a failed execution attempt in Tennessee last week.
Behind the scenes, legal representatives fought until the last minute to halt proceedings. They used the events surrounding Christa Pike, whose execution attempt in Tennessee was completely botched, as their main argument.
Pike survived two execution attempts and is now “up and walking” according to her laywers.
Despite those legal challenges, multiple state courts rejected the appeals. The US Supreme Court formally turned down a final plea late Wednesday night, and the execution went ahead as scheduled.
Arguments over degraded drugs
According to the BBC, defense lawyers alleged that the state’s drug inventory had degraded over time. Compromised chemicals, they argued, posed severe and unnecessary risks to the condemned prisoner.
“Texas should not be eager to follow in Tennessee’s footsteps; a stay would keep that from happening,” his attorneys argued in court filings.
Ahead of the execution, defense lawyers asked Republican Governor Greg Abbott to grant a 30-day delay to inspect the drugs. Governor Abbott declined that request.
Seeking forgiveness
The death sentence stemmed from a fatal robbery committed over twenty-five years ago. Jamaal Howard was 20 years old when he shot 42-year-old convenience store worker Vickie Swartout back in 2000.
After he shot Swartout, he fled the shop with cigarettes and $114 from the cash register. He was soon apprehended and convicted of capital murder after the judge found enough evidence for a death penalty charge.
Before his execution, Howard addressed Swartout’s family as they watched from behind a witness partition.
“I wish that you accept my apology, and I wish for your forgiveness,” Howard said. “I’m sorry for what happened. I wish you can learn to forgive me one of these days.”
