Texas set to execute man, first in US since Tennessee’s botched attempt

Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP

A Texas man who fatally shot a convenience store clerk is set to die by lethal injection on Wednesday in what would be the nation’s 30th execution this year.

Jamaal Howard, 46, was found guilty of capital murder in the 2000 killing of Vickie Swartout, 42, who was shot once in the chest. He is set to receive a lethal dose of pentobarbital in the first scheduled execution in the US since Tennessee’s failed attempt at putting Christa Pike to death last week.

Pike’s attorneys said Tuesday that she was awake and speaking as she received treatment at a hospital.

Dipti Vaidya/USA Today Network/Imagn Images/Reuters

Christa Pike’s attorneys set to appear in court after botched execution

Texas has executed six people so far this year, with two more scheduled after Howard.

Swartout was fatally shot during the robbery at the store in the small, rural town of Silsbee, located about 100 miles northeast of Houston. Evidence presented at the trial included the store’s surveillance video, which showed Howard shooting Swartout.

Howard, who was 20 at the time, took $114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store, according to court records.

His attorneys have argued that Howard is intellectually disabled and his execution should be halted. The state said that he has not presented evidence that would show he meets the requirements for a claim of intellectual disability.

He has an appeal to the US Supreme Court pending to stop the execution.

The Supreme Court in 2002 had barred the execution of intellectually disabled people. But it has given states some discretion in how they determine such disabilities.

Florida has carried out 16 executions so far this year, the most of any state. Most states that allow executions use lethal injection as their primary method.

德克萨斯州刑事司法部（美联社）

一名德克萨斯州男子枪杀了便利店店员，将于周三被执行注射死刑，这将是美国今年的第30次死刑。

46岁的贾马尔·霍华德因2000年杀害42岁的维姬·斯沃特奥特而被判犯有谋杀罪，斯沃特奥特胸部中弹身亡。他将被注射戊巴比妥钠执行死刑，这将是自上周田纳西州试图处决克丽斯塔·派克失败以来，美国首次执行死刑。

派克的律师周二表示，她在医院接受治疗时意识清醒，能够说话。

Dipti Vaidya/今日美国网络/Imagn Images/路透社

克丽斯塔·派克的律师将在死刑执行失败后出庭。

德克萨斯州今年已经处决了六人，霍华德之后还有两人将被执行死刑。

在休斯顿东北约100英里处的小镇西尔斯比，斯沃特奥特在一家商店抢劫案中被枪杀。庭审中出示的证据包括商店的监控录像，录像显示霍华德开枪射杀了斯沃特奥特。

根据法庭记录，当时 20 岁的霍华德从商店拿走了 114 美元和一箱香烟。

他的律师辩称霍华德智力低下，应中止死刑执行。检方则表示，他没有提供任何证据证明自己符合智力低下的认定标准。

他已向美国最高法院提出上诉，要求停止执行死刑。

最高法院在2002年禁止处决智力障碍者。但它赋予各州一定的自由裁量权，使其能够自行判定是否存在智力障碍。

佛罗里达州今年迄今已执行了16例死刑，是各州中最多的。大多数允许执行死刑的州都以注射死刑作为主要方式。