Who was Jamaal Howard? Texas man killed in first US execution after Christa Pike botch, his last words: ‘enjoy life...’

Jamaal Howard from Texas was put to death Wednesday evening, becoming the first since Tennessee’s failed attempt to administer a lethal injection to Christa Pike a week ago.

A Texas man was put to death Wednesday evening, becoming the 30th person executed in the US this year and the first since Tennessee’s failed attempt to administer a lethal injection to Christa Pike a week ago.

Jamaal Howard was pronounced dead at 8:03 pm after receiving a fatal dose of pentobarbital at the state prison in Huntsville, the Associated Press reported.

Who was Jamaal Howard?

Jamaal Howard, 46, was convicted of killing Vickie Swartout, 42, in a 2000 store robbery. The store clerk’s killing was caught on surveillance video.

Howard, who was 20 at the time, 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 by the report.

He was convicted of capital 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 the warden if he had a final statement, Howard apologised profusely 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.”

He also thanked his friends and family and said he loved them, adding he was “in a good state of mind to find peace and the Lord, so I thank y’all.” He concluded with: "Hey, enjoy life, and peace to y’all.”

Howard's execution came a week after 1995 murder accused Christa Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital on September 30 in Tennessee.

Her lawyers continue to seek more information about what went wrong during her execution. Her lawyers said she was unconscious at a hospital after the attempt but was awake and speaking by Tuesday.

Pike, believed to be the first person to survive after receiving lethal injection drugs during an execution, stunningly woke up 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, said attorney Randy Spivey.

“But on Tuesday, to the shock of everyone ... Christa woke up and began talking,” Spivey said.

Pike, who was sentenced to death for the 1995 beating and stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer, is aware of what happened to her, at least up to a point, Spivey said.

Many questions remain, though, about her prognosis for recovery and whether Tennessee will make another attempt to execute Pike, now age 50.

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