North Texas man executed as his cousin claims ‘I was the killer’ in fatal 2008 robbery

A North Texas man who pleaded not guilty to triggering a deadly robbery that killed two people nearly 18 years ago, prosecutors said. abused rap lyrics wrote to ensure security death penalty He was executed on Thursday evening.

James Broadnax was pronounced dead at 6:47 p.m. after receiving a lethal injection at the state prison in Huntsville, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Houston.

He was condemned for the 2008 shooting deaths of two men outside a music studio in suburban Dallas. Prosecutors say Broadnax and his cousin, Demarius Cummings, fatally shot and robbed Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler in the parking lot of Butler’s recording studio in Garland. Cummings was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Broadnax was defiant in his latest statement, in which he also asked for forgiveness from the relatives of crime victims.

The execution ended with the cries of “I love you” from his wife, who was also among the witnesses of the sentence.

Prosecutors said Broadnax, 37, confessed to the shooting, telling reporters during jailhouse interviews that “I pulled the trigger” and that he had no remorse.

Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request from Broadnax’s lawyers to stay the execution.

His lawyers had focused his final objections on two issues: Cummings had recently confessed to being the shooter; and Broadnax’s constitutional rights were violated because prosecutors eliminated potential jurors based on race during the trial.

“I’m going to tell you, as it really should be said, that I was the murderer, that it was me. I shot Matthew Bullard and I shot Steve Swan,” Cummings said in a recent video from prison produced as part of efforts to stop Broadnax’s execution.

Cummings’ confession was “supported by the fact that his DNA, and not Mr. Broadnax’s, was found on the murder weapon and in the pocket of one of the victims,” ​​Broadnax’s lawyers said in their filing to the high court.

In the film, Broadnax said his confession was false because he did not care about his life at the time. Broadnax’s lawyers say he was under the influence of drugs during the television interviews.

He also apologized to Butler and Swan’s families for their participation in the robbery.

“I wish I could show them my soul so they could see how sorry I am. I’m so sorry for everything that happened,” Broadnax said.

His attorneys also alleged that prosecutors dismissed all seven potential Black jurors based on their race “by using a spreadsheet during jury selection that simply listed each Black juror’s name in bold,” according to court documents. One Black juror was later reinstated as a juror. Broadnax was Black.

In a 1986 decision known as Batman v. KentuckyThe U.S. Supreme Court ruled that excluding jurors because of their race violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Broadnax’s lawyers had argued in an earlier appeal that prosecutors violated his constitutional rights by using some rap lyrics he wrote to portray him as a violent and dangerous person, warranting the death penalty. Including a number of A-list rappers travis scott,T.I. And Killer MikeHe had filed a brief with the Supreme Court in support of Broadnax’s appeal.

However, the high court rejected this objection as well as another objection focusing on how forensic evidence was presented at the hearing.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Tuesday denied Broadnax’s request for a 180-day reprieve or commutation of his death sentence.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office called Cummings’ confession to the attacker “questionable new evidence.” Court documents also said Broadnax’s claims that potential Black jurors were targeted for dismissal were “completely unfair” because those jurors were victimized not because of race but because of their answers during questioning, including some opposing the death penalty.

Matthew Butler’s mother, Theresa Butler, had asked for the execution to proceed.

“This so-called confession from Cummings is nothing more than a stalling tactic by Broadnax’s desperate defense team. It’s all lies,” Butler wrote in a post on social media.

Broadnax became the third person executed in Texas this year and the 10th in the country. Texas has historically carried out more executions than any other state.

About an hour before Broadnax was to be executed on Thursday, Florida executed 70-year-old James Ernest Hitchcock for beating and strangling his 13-year-old step-nephew to death.

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