Texas inmate Jamaal Howard scheduled for lethal injection after 2000 murder
Jamaal Howard, convicted of killing a convenience-store clerk in 2000, is set to be executed by lethal injection in Texas on Wednesday.
A Texas man, Jamaal Howard, who was 20 when he shot and killed 42-year-old clerk Vickie Swartout during a 2000 robbery, is slated for lethal injection on Wednesday. The crime occurred at a convenience store in Silsbee, about 161 km northeast of Houston, and resulted in Howard taking $114 and a carton of cigarettes. Convicted of capital murder, Howard argues he suffers from an intellectual disability, a claim the state says is not adequately documented.
He has appealed to the US Supreme Court for a stay of execution, citing the 2002 ruling that bars executions of intellectually disabled individuals. If carried out, this will be Texas’s seventh execution this year and the 30th in the United States overall. Two additional executions are already scheduled in the state.
Why it matters
The case highlights ongoing legal battles over the death penalty and intellectual disability exemptions.
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