Jamaal Howard, 46, was executed by lethal injection in Texas on Wednesday, becoming the first person put to death in the US since Christa Pike survived a botched execution in Tennessee last week. The execution took place at the Huntsville Unit, less than two hours after a Texas court refused to halt it.
Howard was sentenced to death for the fatal shooting of convenience store clerk Vickie Swartout in 2000. His lawyers had asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to stay the execution, citing the failed lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee. They argued that the same drug used in Pike's attempted execution — pentobarbital — would be used for Howard and posed the same risks. The court denied the stay request without elaboration.
Lawyers Cited Pike Case in Failed Bid to Halt Execution
Howard's attorneys wrote in their request: "There is a similar risk that Texas's execution drugs are likewise degraded, as they are far past the original beyond-use dates that the pharmacopeia allows for drugs of this kind." They also raised concerns over the quality of the state's execution drugs.
Texas has executed six people so far this year, with two more scheduled after Howard, which would be the 30th execution nationwide in 2026.
Pike's Recovery Called 'Medically Unprecedented'
Christa Pike, 50, regained consciousness and began speaking a week after receiving two doses of execution drugs in Tennessee. Her lawyers called her recovery "medically unprecedented" after she was placed on a ventilator following the bungled September 30 attempt to make her the first woman put to death in Tennessee in 200 years.
At a hearing in Nashville, a judge was told that Pike was "speaking limitedly" and a long recovery is expected. Pike is the only person to survive after receiving lethal injection drugs during an execution, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre. Tennessee officials say they are investigating what went wrong.
Medical experts raised a few possibilities that could explain how Pike survived the injections, including the potential drug quality and the placement of IV lines. Pike's lawyers alleged her execution was marred by blown veins, as well as Tennessee's deteriorated pentobarbital and a lack of emergency medical care.
Judge Orders Preservation of Evidence from Botched Execution
At the hearing, Judge I'Ashea Myles granted a motion to preserve evidence from Pike's botched execution, ordering the state to preserve "anything that was in the actual room." The judge stated: "As a primary matter we want all drugs surrendered, IV lines, tubing, which are within the state's possession: needles catheters, medical supplies, restraints, gurneys. Anything that was in the actual room needs to be preserved."
The judge also ruled that "any recording of the execution will need to be preserved," including all photographs, video recordings, audio recordings, and surveillance footage. Pike's medical documents in the state's possession also need to be preserved.
Pike's lawyer Luke Ihnen told the court: "We are asking the state to preserve evidence of Ms Pike's botched execution that is the limited issue before the court." He argued that the preservation of evidence is necessary in case the state intends to try and execute her again, noting: "The state has made no promises that Ms Pike will not be subject to a future execution."
Pike's legal team said her prognosis remains unclear and, at a minimum, she faces a lengthy recovery. Her arms were burned and blistered after the attempted lethal injection and she remains handcuffed to the hospital bed. Lawyer Randy Spivey said Pike has not been able to swallow or eat since regaining consciousness, has a blood clot in one of her arms, and pneumonia.
Pike was 18 when she killed a classmate in a jealous rage and became one of the youngest women to be sent to death row. She and her boyfriend were convicted in the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, their classmate at Knoxville Job Corps. Prosecutors said Pike feared Slemmer was a romantic rival and lured her to a secluded area where she and her boyfriend tortured and killed her.
