HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) 鈥� A North Texas man who claimed he wasn鈥檛 the shooter in a fatal robbery that killed two people nearly 18 years ago and who said prosecutors he wrote to secure his was executed Thursday evening.
James Broadnax was pronounced dead after receiving a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Houston.
Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request by Broadnax鈥檚 attorneys to stop his execution.
He was condemned for the 2008 shooting deaths of two men outside a suburban Dallas music studio. Prosecutors say Broadnax and his cousin, Demarius Cummings, fatally shot and robbed Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler in the parking lot of Butler鈥檚 recording studio in Garland. Cummings was sentenced to life without parole.
Broadnax was defiant in a final statement in which he also sought forgiveness from the victims’ relatives. Seven relatives, including parents of each of the victims, were present.
鈥淚 prayed to God for your forgiveness,” he said, when asked by the warden if he had a final statement. 鈥淒espite what you think about me, I hope to God that prayer was answered. But no matter what you think about me, Texas got it wrong. I鈥檓 innocent, the facts of my case should speak for itself. Period,” he said.
The execution also was punctuated by screams of 鈥淚 love you鈥� from his wife, who also was among witnesses to the punishment. She was emotional at times during the procedure, leaning up to the death chamber window with arms spread, and had to be helped out of the prison.
As the lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital began, Broadnax urged his supporters to keep fighting. 鈥淒on鈥檛 give up,鈥� he said, and was stopped in another mid-sentence by a gasp. He shook his head briefly and all movement stopped. He was pronounced dead 21 minutes later, at 6:47 p.m. CDT.
Prosecutors said Broadnax, 37, confessed to the shooting, telling reporters during jailhouse interviews that 鈥淚 pulled the trigger鈥� and that he had no remorse.
His lawyers had focused his final appeals on two issues: Cummings had recently confessed to being the shooter; and Broadnax鈥檚 constitutional rights were violated because prosecutors eliminated potential jurors during his trial on the basis of race.
鈥淚鈥檓 really gonna tell it like it鈥檚 supposed to be told, that it was me, that I was the killer. I shot Matthew Bullard, Steve Swan,鈥� Cummings said recently from prison in a video created as part of the efforts to stop Broadnax鈥檚 execution.
His attorneys also alleged prosecutors dismissed all seven potential Black jurors on the basis of their race, 鈥渦tilizing a spreadsheet during jury selection that bolded only the names of every Black juror,鈥� according to court documents. One Black juror was later reinstated to the jury. Broadnax was Black.
In a 1986 ruling known as , the U.S. Supreme Court determined that excluding jurors because of their race violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Broadnax鈥檚 attorneys had argued in an earlier appeal that prosecutors had violated his constitutional rights by using some of the rap lyrics he wrote to portray him as a violent and dangerous person in order to secure a death sentence. A number of A-list rappers, including and , had filed briefs at the Supreme Court in support of Broadnax鈥檚 appeal.
Theresa Butler, Matthew Butler鈥檚 mother, had asked that the execution proceed.
鈥淭his so called confession from cummings is just a stall tactic by Broadnax鈥檚 desperate defense team. Its all a lie,鈥� Butler wrote in a post on social media.
Broadnax was the third person put to death this year in Texas and the 10th in the country. Texas has historically held more executions than any other state.
About an hour before Broadnax鈥檚 execution on Thursday, James Ernest Hitchcock, 70, for beating and choking his 13-year-old step-niece to death.
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Lozano reported from Houston. Follow Juan A. Lozano:
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