Texas Executes James Broadnax in Huntsville After Supreme Court Snubs Final Plea

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — James Garfield Broadnax, 37, was pronounced dead at 6:47 p.m. Thursday at the Huntsville Unit, about 20 minutes after receiving a lethal injection with no reported complications. The execution proceeded hours after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his last-minute appeal, which hinged on a confession from his cousin and codefendant, Demarius Cummings, claiming responsibility for the shootings. Broadnax had long maintained he was not the gunman, despite an early confession, in the capital murder case stemming from a June 19, 2008, robbery outside a downtown Garland recording studio.

Broadnax and Cummings targeted music producers Matthew Butler, 28, and Stephen Swan, 26, in the parking lot, fatally shooting both during the robbery. A Dallas County jury convicted Broadnax of capital murder in 2008 and sentenced him to death; he challenged peremptory strikes during jury selection under Batson v. Kentucky but failed to sway federal courts with new evidence. Witnesses reported Broadnax reading a final statement and briefly looking toward the victims' families before the drugs took effect.

This marks the third execution in Texas for 2026 and the 599th since the state reinstated capital punishment in 1982, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Three more executions are scheduled through year's end, maintaining Texas' lead nationally in death penalty use. Garland, a Dallas suburb known for its vibrant music scene, has seen few such high-profile cases tied to local studios.