(7:05 p.m.) The U.S. Supreme Court has denied three appeals from convicted killer Jamaal Howard, clearing the way for the State of Texas to carry out his execution Wednesday evening
Howard, 46, was convicted of capital murder in the May 2000 shooting death of 42-year-old Vickie Swartout, a convenience store clerk in Silsbee.
The nation’s highest court rejected Howard’s final attempts to stop his execution after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals earlier Wednesday denied his attorneys’ request for a stay.
Howard’s attorneys had raised concerns about the state’s
Howard’s attorneys had raised concerns about the state’s lethal injection procedure following last week’s failed execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee.
According to the Associated Press, Howard’s attorneys also argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that he should not be executed because he is intellectually disabled. The state disputed that claim, saying his attorneys had not presented sufficient evidence.
The Supreme Court’s decisions remove the legal obstacles identified in those appeals, allowing Texas to proceed with the scheduled execution.
Howard would become the seventh inmate executed in Texas this year.
KFDM anchor Aaron Drawhorn is at the Huntsville
KFDM anchor Aaron Drawhorn is at the Huntsville Unit as a designated media eyewitness. Members of Swartout’s family are also expected to witness the execution.
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