Christa Pike Botched Execution Raises Questions Ahead of Texas Lethal Injection

Christa Pike Botched Execution Texas Death Row Inmate Wants To Hit Pause ... Y'all Sure This Will Kill Me?!? Published October 7, 2026 8:20 AM PDT Texas is moving forward with an execution just one week after Christa Pike survived a botched lethal injection in Tennessee ... and the condemned man's lawyers want to pump the brakes. Jamaal Howard is scheduled to be put to death Wednesday in Texas, which uses the same drug -- pentobarbital -- that failed to kill Pike after two doses. Howard's attorneys are asking Gov. Greg Abbott for a 30-day delay while they seek more information about Texas' supply of the drug ... arguing he shouldn't be executed "within days of the same drug failing in another state." As TMZ reported, Pike was rushed to the hospital after Tennessee's failed Sept. 30 execution attempt ... and has since regained consciousness and is talking. Howard was sentenced to death for killing 42-year-old convenience store clerk Vickie Swartout during a 2000 robbery. His final appeals are still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. If the execution goes forward, it'll be the first in the U.S. since Pike survived hers. Related articles Jamaal Howard Christa Pike Vickie Swartout Greg Abbott Death Penalty Christa Pike Execution Crime Legal News