Executed in Texas by lethal injection, first execution since the Pike case

Jamaal Howard, a 46-year-old American, was executed in Texas by lethal injection, in what is the first execution since the multiple failed attempt against Christa Pike in Tennessee, just a week earlier.

Howard, sentenced to death for killing a sales clerk during a robbery in 2000, is the thirtieth death penalty carried out in the United States in 2026.

The man was pronounced dead after administering a lethal dose of pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. When the prison director asked him if he had a final statement to make, Howard apologized to some of the victim's family, who were watching the execution through a glass window a few meters from the death chamber. "I hope you accept my apology and I hope for your forgiveness," he said shortly before the lethal injection began. "I'm sorry for what happened. I hope that one day you can learn to forgive me," he added, thanking friends and family and saying he loved them.

He also said he was "serene and ready to find peace and the Lord; I thank you all". He concluded by saying, “Enjoy life and peace to you all.”