Texas executed Jamaal Howard, 46, on Wednesday evening after he was convicted of fatally shooting convenience store clerk Vickie Swartout during a 2000 store robbery. Howard was pronounced dead at 8:03 pm after receiving a fatal dose of pentobarbital at the state prison in Huntsville. His execution made him the 30th person put to death in the United States this year and came a week after Tennessee's unsuccessful attempt to administer a lethal injection to Christa Pike.

Howard was convicted in connection with the killing of Swartout, 42, whose death occurred during a convenience store robbery in 2000. The robbery and killing were captured on surveillance video, which formed part of the evidence in the case that resulted in Howard's conviction. He remained on death row before the state carried out the execution on Wednesday evening at the Huntsville prison.

Before the lethal injection was administered, Howard was given an opportunity to make a final statement in the presence of members of Swartout's family, who watched the execution through a window close to the death chamber. Howard apologised repeatedly to some of the victim's relatives and asked them to accept his apology and eventually forgive him. He also expressed regret for what had happened and said he hoped they would be able to forgive him one day.

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Howard also used his final moments to thank his friends and family. His execution was carried out using pentobarbital, a drug used by Texas in its lethal injection protocol. He was pronounced dead at 8:03 pm, bringing the execution process to an end at the state prison in Huntsville, where Texas carries out executions.

The execution was the first in the United States since Tennessee's attempt to execute Christa Pike a week earlier failed to result in a completed lethal injection. Pike's case had therefore been the most recent US execution attempt before Texas carried out Howard's death sentence. With Howard's execution, the number of people put to death in the United States this year rose to 30, according to the supplied report.

Howard's execution followed his conviction for Swartout's killing during the 2000 robbery and the subsequent death sentence imposed in the case. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice carried out the execution at the Huntsville prison on Wednesday evening, with Howard's final statement focused on an apology to members of the victim's family. He was pronounced dead at 8:03 pm after receiving the fatal injection.

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