Jamaal Howard, 46, was pronounced dead at 8:03 p.m. after receiving a fatal dose of pentobarbital at the state prison in Huntsville. He was convicted of killing Vickie Swartout, 42, in a 2000 store robbery caught on surveillance video.
Asked by the warden if he had a final statement, Howard apologized 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 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, 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 northeast of Houston, according to court records.
