Texas to Execute Man for 2000 Convenience Store Murder

Texas prepares to execute Jamaal Howard for 2000 murder of convenience store clerk. Nation's 30th execution this year.

October 7, 2026 One Min Read

POLICY WIRE — Dallas, Texas — Texas is set to carry out the execution of Jamaal Howard, a man convicted of killing a convenience store clerk in 2000, on Wednesday. This will mark the 30th execution in the United States this year.

Howard, now 46, was found guilty of capital murder for shooting Vickie Swartout, 42, once in the chest during a robbery at a small-town store in Silsbee, about 100 miles northeast of Houston. He is scheduled to receive a lethal dose of pentobarbital, making this the first execution in the U.S. since Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute Christa Pike last week.

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Pike’s legal team reported that she was conscious and speaking as she received medical care at a hospital. Texas has carried out six executions this year, with two more planned after Howard’s. His attorneys claim he is intellectually disabled and should not be executed, but the state has denied this, stating he has not provided sufficient evidence. Howard’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution remains pending.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)

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