“ENJOY LIFE, AND PEACE TO Y’ALL”: JAMAAL HOWARD’S FINAL WORDS BEFORE TEXAS EXECUTION

Jamaal Howard, 46, apologized to his victim’s family in his final statement before Texas carried out his execution on October 7, 2026. His case drew national attention after his lawyers raised concerns about the lethal-injection drug following a failed execution attempt involving Christa Pike in Tennessee.

Jamaal Howard’s final words were a message of apology, forgiveness and peace.

The 46-year-old Texas prisoner was executed at the state prison in Huntsville on Wednesday evening, October 7, after spending more than two decades on death row.

Before the procedure began, Howard addressed members of the family of Vickie Swartout, the convenience-store clerk whose death led to his conviction.

“I wish that you accept my apology, and I wish for your forgiveness,” he said, expressing regret for what had happened and hoping the family could eventually find peace.

He also thanked his own loved ones and people who had supported him during his final years.

His last words included a brief message to those watching: “Hey, enjoy life, and peace to y’all.”

According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Howard was pronounced dead at 8:03 p.m. local time.

The case that led to his sentence

Howard was convicted of capital murder in connection with the May 12, 2000, robbery of a convenience store in Silsbee, Texas.

Prosecutors presented surveillance footage showing the incident involving Vickie Swartout, 42. Court records cited by the Associated Press said Howard took $114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store.

He was 20 years old at the time.

His conviction and death sentence followed in 2001. Over the years, his legal team pursued appeals, including arguments concerning his intellectual disability and whether he was constitutionally eligible for execution.

Those efforts did not stop the sentence from being carried out.

Why his execution drew renewed attention

Howard’s execution came just one week after Tennessee’s attempt to execute Christa Pike failed to proceed as planned.

His attorneys asked courts to halt his execution, arguing that Texas used the same drug, pentobarbital, and raising concerns about the condition of the state’s supply. They also cited the circumstances surrounding Pike’s failed execution.

The courts rejected the requests to stop Howard’s execution, allowing Texas to proceed.

The case renewed public scrutiny of lethal-injection procedures and the safeguards surrounding executions. However, the concerns raised by Howard’s lawyers were legal arguments, not an official finding that the drug used in his execution was defective.

A difficult moment for his family

Witnesses reported that Howard began taking breaths and making gasping and snoring sounds as the drug took effect. His sister, who was watching from an adjacent witness room, became distressed and repeatedly asked to leave.

The Associated Press reported that the sounds gradually became quieter before movement stopped. Howard was pronounced dead 19 minutes later.

The scene was a painful moment for his relatives, even as members of Swartout’s family witnessed the execution following the loss they had endured years earlier.

His final message

Howard’s execution marked the first carried out in the United States since the failed attempt involving Pike.

His final statement did not undo the harm caused by Swartout’s death, nor did it erase the years of grief experienced by her loved ones. But his apology became the final public message he left behind.

For the families watching, the moment carried profoundly different meanings: one confronting a loss that began in 2000, the other saying goodbye to a relative whose final hours were witnessed by the world.

“Enjoy life, and peace to y’all.”

Those were among Howard’s last words before Texas ended his life, closing a case that had remained in the courts for more than two decades.

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