A Texas man convicted of murdering a convenience store clerk during a robbery was executed Wednesday evening, marking the 30th execution carried out in the United States this year. Jamaal Howard, 46, received a lethal injection of pentobarbital at the state prison in Huntsville and was pronounced dead at 8:03 p.m., according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
The execution is the first carried out nationally since Tennessee’s failed attempt to administer a lethal injection to Christa Pike. Texas has now carried out six executions in 2026, with two additional executions scheduled later this year.
Moments before the lethal injection commenced, Howard addressed members of the victim’s family who observed the procedure through a viewing window a few feet from the death chamber. “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.”
The 2000 Convenience Store Robbery in Silsbee
Howard was convicted of capital murder for the killing of 42-year-old Vickie Swartout during a 2000 robbery. Evidence presented at trial established that Howard, then 20 years old, shot Swartout once in the chest at a convenience store in Silsbee, a rural town located roughly 100 miles (160 kilometres) northeast of Houston. Surveillance footage captured the shooting and showed Howard fleeing the scene with $114 in cash and a carton of cigarettes.
🇺🇸 Texas has executed Jamaal Howard by lethal injection hours after the Supreme Court rejected his final request for a stay.Howard, 46, was pronounced dead at 8:03 p.m. for the 2000 murder of convenience store clerk Vickie Swartout, becoming the 30th person executed in the U.S.… https://t.co/SwinQXU16j pic.twitter.com/8MFmZ2xsI8
Legal Challenges Over Lethal Injection Drugs and Intellectual Disability
In the hours leading up to the execution, defense attorneys mounted multiple legal challenges to halt the procedure. Howard’s legal team filed motions before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals challenging the quality of the state’s execution drugs. The appellate court denied both filings without comment.
Simultaneously, defense counsel petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that Howard was intellectually disabled and therefore constitutionally protected from capital punishment under the high court’s landmark 2002 ruling. Attorneys also contended that Howard faced risks similar to those encountered by Christa Pike in Tennessee due to the shared reliance on pentobarbital by both state correctional systems. The state countered that the defense failed to present sufficient evidence establishing intellectual disability under legal standards. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene, clearing the pathway for the execution to proceed.
Final Hours Prior to the Huntsville Unit
During the 45-mile (70-kilometre) transport from death row to the Huntsville Unit, Howard was “chatty” with correctional staff, according to Amanda Hernandez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. “He made small talk with the officers through the whole trip” before being placed in a holding cell near the death chamber, Hernandez said, adding that “he was asking questions and was very engaged in the process.”
Nationwide, Florida leads all states with 16 executions in 2026, while Tennessee Bill Lee has halted the one remaining execution that was scheduled to be carried out in his state this year.
