Texas killer set for pentobarbital execution after failed Christa Pike attempt
Por Jamie Stengle — – World RSS Feed
Texas killer set for pentobarbital execution after failed Christa Pike attempt
A Texas man is set to be executed for fatally shooting a convenience store clerk in 2000 during a robbery
Jamie Stengle Wednesday 07 October 2026 01:04 EDT
- Bookmark
Bookmark popover
Removed from bookmarks
Close popover
Become an Independent member to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.
Already a member?
Log in
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
A Texas man convicted of fatally shooting a convenience store clerk during a robbery caught on surveillance video is set to be executed Wednesday, in what would be the nation’s 30th execution this year.
Jamaal Howard, 46, was convicted of capital murder in the 2000 killing of Vickie Swartout, 42, who was shot once in the chest at the store where she worked.
Howard is scheduled to receive a lethal dose of pentobarbital in Texas’ first execution since Tennessee’s failed attempt to put Christa Pike to death last week.
open image in galleryPike’s attorneys said Tuesday that she was awake and speaking while receiving treatment at a hospital.
Texas has executed six people so far this year, with two more executions scheduled after Howard’s.
Swartout was killed during a robbery at the convenience store in Silsbee, a small rural town about 100 miles northeast of Houston.
Prosecutors presented surveillance video at Howard’s trial showing him shooting Swartout. Howard, who was 20 at the time, then took $114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store, according to court records.
open image in galleryHoward’s attorneys have argued that he is intellectually disabled and therefore cannot legally be executed.
The state has disputed that claim, arguing Howard has not presented evidence showing he meets the requirements for intellectual disability.
Howard has an appeal pending before the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to halt his execution.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that executing people with intellectual disabilities violates the Constitution, although states retain some discretion in determining whether a person meets the legal standard for intellectual disability.
Florida has carried out 16 executions so far this year, more than any other state.
Lethal injection remains the primary execution method in most states that allow the death penalty.
More about
DallasTexasEvidenceTennesseeHoustonFlorida
Most popular
Popular videos
Bulletin
Read next
Fonte: – World RSS Feed
