Texas executed James Broadnax by lethal injection on April 30, 2026, after the state parole board declined to recommend clemency and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal.

Broadnax, 37, was pronounced dead at 6:47 p.m. at the Huntsville Unit. He had been sentenced to death for the 2008 robbery and fatal shootings of Garland music producers Matthew Butler, 28, and Stephen Swan, 26.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously declined to recommend clemency or a reprieve two days before the scheduled execution. Texas governors generally cannot commute a death sentence without a written recommendation from the board, although the governor may grant one temporary reprieve.

Broadnax’s final appeal centered on a signed statement from his cousin and codefendant, Demarius Cummings, who said he—not Broadnax—shot the two men. Broadnax’s attorneys also argued that DNA evidence supported the confession and raised claims involving the jury-selection process and prosecutors’ use of rap lyrics at trial. State and federal courts declined to halt the execution.

In his final statement, Broadnax maintained that he was innocent and asked the victims’ families for forgiveness. He became the third person executed by Texas in 2026 and the 599th since the state resumed executions in 1982.

Sources: The Texas Tribune — Texas executes James Broadnax after final appeal; Texas Department of Criminal Justice execution record.