Death penalty: First execution in the USA since failed execution

A man sentenced to death for murder has been executed in the US state of Texas. The US media reported this unanimously. The execution of 46-year-old Jamaal Howard on Wednesday evening (local time) is the first in the USA since the failed execution of the American Christa Pike last week. Her case has reignited the long-standing debate about the death penalty in the United States.

Howard shot a woman in 2000 during a robbery in which the then 20-year-old stole $114 from the cash register. In 2001 he was sentenced to death for murder. In his last statement, Howard is said to have turned to the victim's family and asked for forgiveness, as reported by the US newspaper "New York Times", among others. "I'm sorry for what happened."

Like Pike, the lethal injection drug pentobarbital was to be used for his execution. Howard's lawyers attempted to stop the execution in various ways, but were unsuccessful. According to US media, they insisted, among other things, on a stay of execution in order to wait until further information about the drug was available.

Before Howard, Texas had already executed six people this year - and has scheduled two more executions for November.

The failed execution

In the US state of Tennessee, convicted murderer Pike was given two doses of the drug pentobarbital for her execution around a week ago. The 50-year-old survived both injections and was taken to a local hospital for treatment, where she was given artificial ventilation. According to her lawyers, she has now regained consciousness.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, there is no known comparable modern US case in which the intended execution drugs were administered and the condemned person lived on.