Who Was Jamaal Howard? Texas man killed in first US execution after botched Christa Pike, his last words: ‘enjoy life…’ | Today’s news
A Texas man was put to death Wednesday night, becoming the 30th person executed in the U.S. this year and the first since Tennessee’s failed attempt to fatally inject Christ Pike a week ago.
Jamaal Howard was pronounced dead at 8:03 p.m. after receiving a fatal dose of pentobarbital at Huntsville State Prison, the Associated Press reported.
Who Was Jamaal Howard?
Jamaal Howard, 46, was convicted of killing Vickie Swartout, 42, in 2000 during a convenience store robbery. The salesman’s murder was caught on security video.
Howard, then 20, took $114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store in Silsbee, a small rural town about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Houston, according to court records cited in the report.
He was convicted of murder in the killing of Swartout, who was shot once in the chest during the robbery.
Evidence presented at trial included surveillance video showing Howard shooting Swartout.
Howard’s last words
Asked by a guard if he had a closing statement, Howard apologized profusely to some of his victim’s family members, who watched through a window just steps from the death chamber.
“I wish you would accept my apology and I wish you forgiveness,” he said shortly before the injection was administered. “I’m sorry for what happened. I wish you would learn to forgive me one day.”
He also thanked his friends and family and said he loved them, adding that he was “in good spirits to find peace and the Lord, so thank you all.” He concluded by saying, “Hey, enjoy life and peace to you all.”
Howard’s execution came a week after Christa Pike, accused in the 1995 murder, survived two doses of pentobarbital on September 30 in Tennessee.
Her lawyers continue to seek more information about what happened during her execution. Her lawyers said she was unconscious in hospital after the attempt but was awake and talking on Tuesday.
Pike, who is believed to be the first person to survive after receiving lethal injection drugs during an execution, had a stunning awakening as plans were being made to remove her from life support, just six days after she was strapped to a gurney in the death chamber, attorney Randy Spivey said.
“But on Tuesday, to everyone’s shock … Christa woke up and started talking,” Spivey said.
Pike, who was sentenced to death in 1995 for the beating and stabbing of fellow student Colleen Slemmer, is at least somewhat aware of what happened to her, Spivey said.
But many questions remain about her prognosis for recovery and whether Tennessee will try to execute Pike, now 50, again.
