Texas set to carry out first U.S. execution since Christa Pike survived the same drug

Texas plans to execute Jamaal Howard on Wednesday evening using pentobarbital, the same drug Tennessee used in the failed execution of Christa Pike one week earlier. If it goes forward, it would be the first execution in the United States since Pike survived two doses of the drug on Sept. 30, according to the Associated Press.

Howard's lawyers have asked courts to stop it, arguing that what happened in Tennessee shows the risks of the drug.

## Who is Jamaal Howard

Howard, 46, was convicted of capital murder for fatally shooting a convenience store clerk during a 2000 robbery in Silsbee, Texas, according to AP and the Texas Tribune. He was 20 at the time, Newsweek reported.

The execution is set for 6 p.m. Central time, according to Newsweek. The Texas Tribune reported it would be the state's seventh execution this year.

## The legal fight

Howard's attorneys filed a motion for a stay with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals early Wednesday, AP reported. They argue that "Texas's execution drugs are likewise degraded, as they are far past the original beyond-use dates."

Texas gets pentobarbital from compounding pharmacies and extends the drug's beyond-use dates by retesting it, a practice critics call unsafe, according to the Texas Tribune. His lawyers also asked Gov. Greg Abbott for a 30-day reprieve over the drug supply, the Tribune reported.

Separately, Howard's lawyers argue he is intellectually disabled and therefore cannot be executed under the Eighth Amendment. Earlier evaluations found he did not meet the criteria, Newsweek reported. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied an appeal on Monday, and a request to the U.S. Supreme Court was still pending Wednesday, according to the Tribune.

"We had hoped, given what happened only one week ago to Christa Pike, this time might be different," one of Howard's attorneys said, according to Newsweek.

Texas officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday morning, AP reported.

## What happened in Tennessee

Pike, the only woman on Tennessee's death row, received two doses of pentobarbital on Sept. 30 and survived, according to AP. She was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Her attorneys said Tuesday that she is now "conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care."

Tennessee canceled its remaining 2026 executions pending a third-party review, and Gov. Bill Lee announced the state's prisons commissioner will resign, CBS News reported. Pike's lawyers are asking for her sentence to be commuted.

The Tennessee Department of Correction has said it "followed every step of the State's lawful, established execution protocol," according to ABC News.

## Tennessee court hearing on evidence

Also on Wednesday, a judge in Davidson County Chancery Court was scheduled to hold a hearing at 11 a.m. Central on a request from Pike's attorneys. They want an order requiring the state to preserve "any and all evidence related" to the failed execution, including physical, written and electronic records, ABC News reported.

Pike's attorneys say they notified the state of its duty to preserve evidence early on Oct. 1 and had not received a response by the time they filed their motion Oct. 2, according to WSMV.

## What happens next

The U.S. Supreme Court can still rule on Howard's pending request before the scheduled execution time. If the execution goes forward, it will be the first test of pentobarbital since Tennessee's failure. Another Texas inmate scheduled for execution has an ongoing lawsuit over how the state sources the drug and handles expiration dates, according to the Texas Tribune.

In Tennessee, the outcome of Wednesday's evidence hearing will shape what records Pike's lawyers can use as they challenge her sentence and the state's execution process.