US puts inmate to death for first time since botched execution of Christa Pike

A Texas death row inmate has been put to death by lethal injection - despite objections following Christa Pike's botched execution last week. 

Jamaal Howard, 46, is the first inmate to be executed in the US since Pike, 50, survived two doses of lethal injection last Wednesday.

Howard, who was convicted of fatally shooting convenience store clerk Vickie Swartout during a robbery in 2000, was administered with pentobarbital - the same drug used in Pike's attempted execution in Tennessee.

His lawyers filed two requests to stop the execution, arguing to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that the drug posed similar risks.

They raised concerns about its quality, claiming the drugs were "degraded" and "far past the original beyond-use dates".

However, the court denied the stay requests without elaboration.

Howard's lawyers had also argued unsuccessfully to the US Supreme Court that his execution should be halted because he was intellectually disabled.

However, the state told the court that Howard's lawyers did not present evidence that would show he meets the requirements for such a claim.

It comes after lawyers for Pike, who is believed to be the first person to have survived an execution by lethal injection in the US, said on Wednesday that she had spoken her first words since regaining consciousness in hospital.

They revealed that Pike had said "'where am I?' and 'who are you?'" - adding that she is "angry and confused about everything right now".

Her defence team also said she remains cognitively confused and is unable to move or swallow. They said she had been brain dead as recently as Monday.

At a hearing on Wednesday, a judge granted a motion brought by Pike's legal team that requires the state of Tennessee to preserve relevant evidence from the botched execution.

Pike's lawyers described the ruling as "just a first step of many to preserve and enforce Christy's constitutional rights", while the judge said the case was "unique to say the least".

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(c) Sky News 2026: US puts inmate to death for first time since botched execution of Christa Pike