Texas executes James Broadnax

The U.S. Supreme Court had denied Broadnax’s final appeal to temporarily stop his execution and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott did not grant a last minute reprieve.

James Broadnax died by lethal injection Thursday evening for the 2008 robbery and murders of two Christian music producers — after his cousin confessed to being the shooter earlier this year.

Broadnax was executed minutes before 7 p.m. Thursday, April 30 in Huntsville, Texas.

Broadnax’s legal team shared in a statement his words from earlier in the day.

“I would like to thank everybody for their love, prayers and support, legal and otherwise, and for all of the effort of fighting for justice in this case,” he said. “It doesn’t go unnoticed, and we thank you.”

The U.S. Supreme Court had denied Broadnax’s final appeal to temporarily stop his execution and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott did not grant a last minute reprieve.

He was convicted of and given the death penalty for the 2008 robbery and murders of Christian music producers Stephen Swan, 26, and Matthew Butler, 28, in Garland.

The Supreme Court update stated, “Application (25A900) for stay of execution of sentence of death presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied as moot.”

Broadnax’s legal team on Tuesday had requested from Abbott a 30-day reprieve.

“…The team is hoping to hear from Texas Governor Abbott on our urgent request for a 30-day reprieve of his sentence, based on the compelling new evidence that has yet to be examined, including the confession by Mr. Cummings,” legal team spokesperson Allan Ripp said in a written statement.

His cousin, Demarius Cummings, recently confessed to being the shooter.

Cummings confessed in a sworn statement last month that he convinced Broadnax, then 19, to take the blame for the shooting while they were both high on PCP and marijuana. Cummings decided to come clean after finding out two months ago that Broadnax was scheduled to die, he said.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles this week denied Broadnax clemency.

“Although the Texas Board of Pardons declined our formal petition for clemency, that effort has generated extraordinary grassroots support for James, including a separate online petition that has drawn more than 80,000 signatures as well as a letter for mercy signed by more than 60 religious and faith leaders across Texas,” Ripp’s statement says.”

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled earlier this month it would not consider the confession as a reason to pause Broadnax’s execution.

Broadnax, who is Black, alleged in Supreme Court filings that prosecutors using his lyrics as evidence in the sentencing phase of his trial and characterizing the music as “gangster rap” was racially biased. The issue attracted support from rappers like Young Thug and Travis Scott, the latter of whom wrote in an amicus brief that lyrics in the genre shouldn’t always be interpreted literally.

Separated by a clear panel, Broadnax married Tiana Krasniqi, a British-based law school graduate, on April 14 at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas.

Prayer vigils were planned in Dallas and Fort Worth and across Texas on Thursday, including in Huntsville, Austin, El Paso and San Antonio.

Source: houstonpublicmedia.org, Staff, May 1, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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