AUSTIN, TEXAS: Texas has executed death row inmate Jamaal Howard, 46, by lethal injection, marking the first execution in the United States since Tennessee inmate Christa Pike survived a botched execution attempt last week.
Howard was executed on Wednesday evening after his lawyers asked a Texas court to halt the execution, citing concerns raised by Pike’s failed execution.
Pike, 50, was administered two injections of pentobarbital by Tennessee correctional officials last Wednesday but survived the execution attempt.
Howard was sentenced to death for fatally shooting convenience store clerk Vickie Swartout during a robbery in 2000. He was also administered pentobarbital during Wednesday’s execution.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected requests from Howard’s lawyers to halt the execution without providing an explanation. Texas has carried out six executions so far in 2026, with two more lethal injections scheduled later this year.
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Meanwhile, Pike regained consciousness on Tuesday, October 6, nearly a week after the failed execution. Her attorneys said the first words she reportedly uttered after waking were, “Where am I?” and “Who are you?”
Her lawyers said Pike remains cognitively confused and is unable to move or swallow. They have also claimed that she was declared brain dead as recently as Monday, October 5.
At a hearing on Wednesday, October 7, a judge granted a motion filed by Pike’s attorneys requiring the state of Tennessee to preserve key evidence related to the failed execution.
