[NYP] A Texas man convicted of killing a convenience store clerk during a robbery was executed Wednesday evening after the Supreme Court declined to halt the execution, despite his attorneys raising concerns about the lethal injection drug used in a failed execution attempt in Tennessee last week.
Jamaal Howard, 46, was pronounced dead at 8:03 p.m. He was sentenced to death for the 2000 killing of 42-year-old Vickie Swartout in Silsbee, Texas.
Prior to Howard’s execution, his attorneys pointed to the failed execution of Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike, who survived two doses of pentobarbital on Sept. 30, arguing that the same drug Texas planned to use could pose similar risks.
“Texas should not be eager to follow in Tennessee’s footsteps; a stay would keep that from happening,” Howard’s attorneys argued in their filing. |