Lawyers are requesting that an execution scheduled for Wednesday be halted, citing concerns over the same drug used in Christa Pike's failed execution attempt last week in Tennessee. Jamaal Howard is set to receive lethal injection using pentobarbital, which his lawyers argue poses similar risks due to potential degradation of the drug beyond its original expiration dates. Texas has executed six people this year and plans two more after Howard, making it the 30th execution nationally in 2026.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Jamaal Howard, 46, is set for lethal injection in Texas on Wednesday, marking the first scheduled execution in the U.S. since Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute Christa Pike last week. In 2000, Howard was convicted of capital murder for fatally shooting Vickie Swartout, 42, during a robbery at a convenience store in Silsbee, about 100 miles northeast of Houston. Surveillance video showed Howard taking $114 and a carton of cigarettes before shooting Swartout once in the chest.
Howard’s lawyers argue that he is intellectually disabled and should not face execution, citing the U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 2002 which prohibits executing individuals with intellectual disabilities but allows states discretion to determine eligibility. They also point out risks associated with the drug pentobarbital, used in Pike's failed execution where she survived two doses, as grounds for delaying Howard’s execution.
If carried out, it would be Texas' seventh execution this year and the 30th nationwide.
Written for “Texas Execution Controversy” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.
Lawyers for a Texas man who fatally shot a convenience store clerk are asking a judge to stay his execution by lethal injection set for Wednesday, citing the failed execution of
in Tennessee last week.
asserted
who → shoot → Tennessee
This would be the first execution scheduled in the U.S. since Pike.
asserted
This → schedule → Pike
Because the same drug used in her attempted execution —
— would be used in Texas for Jamaal Howard, his attorneys argued the drug poses the same risks, and said they believe the state's supply had become degraded.
asserted
supply → use → risks
Pike's lawyers are seeking more information about what went wrong after the 50-year-old survived two doses of pentobarbital.
asserted
old → seek → pentobarbital
She was hospitalized and, as of Tuesday, was
.In a statement
asserted
She → hospitalize → statement
Tuesday, her attorneys said she was "conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care," but noted "her prognosis remains unclear" and "at a minimum" they "expect a long recovery."
uncertain
they → say → recovery
They also said "despite the severe damage she endured to her arms, she is still handcuffed and shackled to the bed."
One of her attorneys, Steve Ferrell,
on Monday that doctors were working to clear her body of the pentobarbital and that she was on a ventilator.
asserted
she → say → ventilator
Her attorneys have alleged her execution was marred by blown veins, where a needle goes all the way through a vein and causes a leak of blood and fluid, as well as Tennessee's deteriorated pentobarbital and a lack of emergency medical care.
asserted
needle → allege → care
"There is a similar risk," Howard's attorneys wrote, "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."
asserted
pharmacopeia → be → kind
Texas has executed six people so far this year, with two more scheduled after Howard, which would be the 30th execution nationwide in 2026.
asserted
which → execute → 2026
A killing caught on surveillance video
Howard, 46, was found guilty of capital murder in the 2000 killing of Vickie Swartout, 42, who was shot once in the chest during a robbery.
asserted
who → catch → robbery
Evidence presented at the trial included the store's surveillance video, which showed Howard shooting Swartout.
asserted
Howard → present → Swartout
Howard, who was 20 at the time, took $114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store in the small, rural town of Silsbee, located about 100 miles northeast of Houston, according to court records.
uncertain
who → take → records
His attorneys have argued Howard is intellectually disabled and his execution should be halted.
asserted
execution → argue → ?
The state said he has not presented evidence that would show he meets the requirements for a claim of intellectual disability.
uncertain
he → say → disability
He has an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court pending to stop the execution.
asserted
He → have → execution
The Supreme Court in 2002 had barred the execution of intellectually disabled people.
asserted
Court → bar → people
But it has given states some discretion in how they determine such disabilities.
asserted
they → give → disabilities
Motion to stay because of drugs
The motion filed in the Court of Criminal Appeals in Texas early Wednesday said Howard's attorneys had filed requests for information about the lethal dose of pentobarbital the Texas Department of Criminal Justice planned to use.
asserted
Department → stay → Justice
They say the department asked for a state attorney general opinion about whether they would have to disclose that information, despite a "years-long practice of disclosing information."
asserted
they → say → information
The Texas attorney general opinion is not expected to be returned until after Wednesday, meaning Howard can't litigate whatever decision the state might make on releasing that information, they say.
uncertain
they → expect → information
Texas officials did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday morning.
asserted
officials → return → comment
Executions in the U.S. this year
Florida has carried out 16 executions so far this year, the most of any state.
asserted
Florida → carry → state
Most states that allow executions use lethal injection as their primary method.
asserted
that → allow → method
Tennessee's Republican Gov. Bill Lee has
for the rest of the year.
asserted
Lee → have → year
An execution date for former
, who killed 13 people in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, has been set for Dec. 3, and will take place at the same post where he carried out his attack, according to an email sent to the families of victims.
uncertain
he → kill → victims
Hasan is set to said late Monday the plan to use an Army firing squad was recommended by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and approved by President Trump.
asserted
plan → set → Trump
The Aporia
