Texas Man Faces Execution for 2000 Convenience Store Robbery and Murder

A Texas man is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday for the 2000 fatal shooting of a convenience store clerk during a robbery. Jamaal Howard, 46, was convicted of capital murder in the killing of Vickie Swartout, 42, who was shot once in the chest during the incident in Silsbee, Texas.

Evidence presented at Howard's trial included surveillance video from the store that showed him shooting Swartout. At the time of the crime, Howard was 20 years old. He took $114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store.

Howard's execution would be the first scheduled in the U.S. since a recent failed execution attempt in Tennessee. Texas has carried out six executions this year, with two more scheduled after Howard's.

Attorneys for Howard have argued that he is intellectually disabled and that his execution should be stayed. However, the state contends that he has not provided sufficient evidence to meet the requirements for an intellectual disability claim. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is pending to halt the execution. The Supreme Court has previously barred the execution of intellectually disabled individuals, though it has granted states discretion in determining such disabilities.