Texas Completes Nation’s First Execution Since Christa Pike Survived Lethal Injections

Texas authorities executed a man on Wednesday, the first execution in the nation since Christa Pike survived two lethal injections in Tennessee in late September.

Jamaal Howard, 46, was pronounced dead at 8:03 p.m. after receiving a fatal dose of pentobarbital at the state prison in Huntsville. He was convicted of killing Vickie Swartout, 42, during a store robbery in 2000.

Howard’s attorneys unsuccessfully sought to block the execution by arguing that he was intellectually disabled and that he faced risks similar to those in Pike’s case because both states use pentobarbital for lethal injections.

Asked by the warden if he had a final statement, Howard apologized to some members of his victim’s family, who watched through a window just feet from the death chamber.

“I wish that you accept my apology and I wish for your forgiveness,” he said, shortly before the injection got underway. “I’m sorry for what happened. I wish you can learn to forgive me one of these days.”

As the pentobarbital began taking effect, Howard took a couple of breaths and gasped. He then began making snoring sounds, coughed and resumed the snoring sounds, each time the sound becoming quieter. Within about 30 seconds, all movement stopped.

He was pronounced dead 19 minutes later.

Failed Execution

Pike, 50, was convicted of the 1995 murder of a classmate. She was supposed to be executed on Sept. 30, but after being injected with two doses of pentobarbital in a prison in Nashville, she was still alive.

An ambulance was summoned, and she was taken to a nearby medical facility.

Pike’s lawyers said on Oct. 6 that she was awake and talking.

The attorneys said they want to figure out exactly what happened. A judge on Wednesday granted their request to preserve evidence in the failed execution. The judge warned the state to “ensure that you all take special care not to lose, misplace, [or] accidentally delete any information that may be pertinent to this litigation.”

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee halted all executions in the state through the end of the year and ordered a third party to review how Pike survived.

“The people of Tennessee expect that those sentences will be carried out in a manner that’s not only legal and constitutional, but effective. And that didn’t happen,” Lee told reporters after ordering the pause. “I’m highly disappointed.”

US Executions

Howard was the 30th person executed in the country so far this year.

Texas has executed seven people so far in 2026, including Howard, and plans two more executions before the year’s end.

Florida has carried out 16 executions so far this year, the most of any state.

Tennessee executed murderer Anthony Darrell Hines in August.

Alabama, Arizona, and Oklahoma have also put people to death in 2026.

All of the executions in 2026 have been by lethal injection, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Most states that allow executions use lethal injection as their primary method.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.