A Texas man who fatally shot a convenience store clerk was put to death Wednesday evening (October 7, 2026), becoming the 30th person executed in the U.S. this year and the first since Tennessee’s failed attempt to administer a lethal injection to Christa Pike.
Asked by the warden if he had a final statement, Howard apologised profusely to members of his victim’s family who watched through window a few from him. “He was asking questions and was very engaged in the process. Howard 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. The court denied that request and a second filing involving the drugs without comment.
Howard, who was 20 at the time, took USD 114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store in Silsbee, a small, rural town about 100 miles (160 kilometres) northeast of Houston, according to court records.
“He made small talk with the officers through the whole trip” before being taken to a holding cell near the death chamber, she said.
In bidding to halt Howard’s execution, his attorneys filed a motion before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals raising concerns about the quality of Texas’ execution drugs.
But it has given states some discretion in how they determine such disabilities. The high court late Wednesday declined to intervene, without comment, clearing the way for the execution. The Supreme Court in 2002 had barred the execution of intellectually disabled people.
Because he was intellectually disabled, his attorneys also argued unsuccessfully to the US Supreme Court that Howard’s execution should be halted.
The state told the court that Howard’s lawyers did not present evidence that would show he meets the requirements for a claim of intellectual disability.
