Texas prepares for first execution since botched execution of Christa Pike

Texas is preparing to execute Jamal Howard, 46, by lethal injection, the first execution in the US since the botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee. His lawyers are seeking a 30-day delay due to the mishap, arguing he has an intellectual disability. Howard was convicted of murdering Vicki Swartout during a gas station robbery in 2000.

Texas is preparing Wednesday evening to carry out the first execution in the United States since the botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee. Jamal Howard, 46, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection, despite his lawyers' requests to delay the sentence. Howard was convicted of murdering Vicki Swartout in 2000 during a robbery at a Chevron gas station in Silsbee, northeast of Houston. If the execution proceeds as planned, Howard will be the seventh inmate executed this year in Texas and the 30th in the United States. The case comes amid two botched executions in Tennessee within four months: that of Christa Pike about a week ago and Tony Crothers in May. Howard's lawyers have asked Texas Governor Greg Abbott for a 30-day delay to obtain information on the purchase date of pentobarbital, its storage method, and the tests performed on it. Simultaneously, they have petitioned the Supreme Court to halt the execution, arguing that Howard has an intellectual disability, with his IQ measured as low as 70. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the Board of Pardons and Paroles have already refused to intervene.