Texas court denies stay of Jamaal Howard’s lethal injection
- Jamaal Howard faces execution by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit in Texas after a state appeals court denied a defense request to halt the procedure.
- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Howard's motion for a stay of execution without issuing an elaboration.
- Because that opinion was not expected until after the execution date, attorneys argued they were blocked from litigating the drug disclosure issue in court.
Jamaal Howard faces execution by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit in Texas after a state appeals court denied a defense request to halt the procedure. The execution follows an attempted lethal injection in Tennessee on Sept. 30, prompting attorneys to argue that Texas uses a similar drug and poses comparable risks. If carried out, Howard would become the 30th person executed nationwide in 2026, according to tracking.
Court Denies Stay Over Pentobarbital Quality
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Howard’s motion for a stay of execution without issuing an elaboration. Attorneys for the 46-year-old inmate argued that the state planned to use pentobarbital from a supply that may be degraded and past its original beyond-use date. The legal filing highlighted the recent execution attempt in Tennessee, where Pike remained unconscious in a hospital for several days before waking up and speaking.
Because that opinion was not expected until after the execution date, attorneys argued they were blocked from litigating the drug disclosure issue in court.
Surveillance Footage Captures 2000 Convenience Store Killing
Howard was convicted of capital murder for the Oct. 28, 2000, fatal shooting of 42-year-old Vickie Swartout during a robbery at a store in Silsbee, Texas, a rural town about 100 miles northeast of Houston. Trial evidence included surveillance video showing Howard, who was 20 years old at the time, shooting Swartout once in the chest before fleeing with $114 and a carton of cigarettes.
Defense attorneys have separately argued that Howard is intellectually disabled and that his execution should be barred under Supreme Court precedent, pointing to a pending appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.
Death Row Inmate Prepares for Huntsville Chamber
During the 45-mile transport from the death row facility to the Huntsville Unit on Wednesday, Howard was described by Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson Amanda Hernandez as chatty and engaged in small talk with officers. Once inside the prison’s holding cell near the death chamber, Howard continued asking questions about the process.
Texas has carried out six executions in 2026, trailing Florida, which leads the nation with 16 executions this year. Nationally, two additional lethal injections are scheduled in Texas following Howard’s case, while Tennessee Governor Bill Lee halted his state’s remaining executions for the year.