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Texas carried out the nation's first execution since Tennessee's failed attempt to execute Christa Pike, putting 46-year-old Jamaal Howard to death on Wednesday (October 7, 2026). Howard was convicted of capital murder for the 2000 killing of Vickie Swartout, a convenience store clerk, during a robbery in Silsbee, Texas. He was executed by lethal injection at the state prison in Huntsville and pronounced dead at 8:03 p.m. after receiving a fatal dose of pentobarbital.
Howard's execution marked the 30th in the United States this year and the seventh in Texas. His attorneys had unsuccessfully argued that he was intellectually disabled and faced similar risks to Pike, who survived two doses of pentobarbital last week in Tennessee. Despite these concerns, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to halt the execution.
In his final statement, Howard apologized to Swartout's family, saying, "I wish that you accept my apology, and I wish for your forgiveness." He also expressed love for his family and thanked them for their support. Howard was 20 years old at the time of the crime, during which he stole $114 and a carton of cigarettes.
Howard's execution proceeded despite concerns about the quality of Texas' execution drugs. The state uses pentobarbital compounded in pharmacies, as manufacturers refuse to sell the drug for executions. Critics have raised safety concerns about this practice.
Florida has carried out 16 executions this year, the most of any state. Meanwhile, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has halted the state's remaining execution for the year following Pike's failed lethal injection.