A Texas man was killed while pleading his innocence in a 2008 double murder
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A Texas man who maintained his innocence in a robbery that killed two men nearly two decades ago was killed this week.
James Broadnax, 37, died by lethal injection at the state prison in Huntsville at 6:47 pm Thursday, the Associated Press reported.
His execution came hours after the United States Supreme Court rejected a last-minute plea by Broadnax’s lawyers to spare him.
“I prayed to God for forgiveness,” Broadnax told the victims’ families as he made his final statement. “Despite what you think of me, I hope to God that prayer is answered. But no matter what you think of me, Texas is wrong. I am innocent, the facts of my case should speak for themselves. Time.”
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Texas death row inmate James Broadnax is shown in this undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice on April 29, 2026. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice/AP)
Broadnax was convicted and later convicted of the 2008 deaths of Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler outside Butler’s downtown Dallas recording studio.
Prosecutors say Broadnax and his cousin, Demarius Cummings, killed two men during an armed robbery in a parking lot.
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The main entrance of the building that houses the execution rooms of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary is seen in Huntsville, Texas, on Oct. 17, 2024. (Michael Wyke/AP)
Cummings was then sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Prosecutors said Broadnax admitted to both allegations, telling reporters during a jailhouse interview that he had no remorse and said, “I fired the bullet.”
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The Huntsville Unit prison is seen in Huntsville, Texas, on September 14, 2024. (Francois Picard/AFP)
Throughout his trial, officials pointed to rap songs written by Broadnax, in which he talked about robbery, murder and drug dealing – which led to an appeal by Broadnax’s defenders who said his constitutional rights were being violated and prompted the support of rappers Travis Scott and Killer Mike.
However, Broadnax’s lawyers hinged their last plea to save his life on Cummings’ recent admission that he fired the shot, while adding that their client’s rights were violated during his trial after several jurors were likely to be dismissed on the basis of race.
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“I’m going to tell you exactly as it should be told, that I was, that I was the killer. I shot Matthew Bullard, Steve Swan,” Cummings said in a video released from jail that was created in an effort to stop Broadnax’s murder.
The defense attorney also said prosecutors in Broadnax’s case had entered all seven black jurors in the case, “using a spreadsheet during jury selection that bolded the names of all black jurors,” according to court documents. One Black judge was eventually reinstated.
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Theresa Butler, Matthew Butler’s mother, remains defiant in calling for her son’s killer to be executed as planned.
“This so-called confession from Cummings is just a ploy by a desperate Broadnax defense team. It’s all lies,” wrote Theresa Butler on social media.
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Broadnax was the 10th person killed this year in the country and the third in the state of Texas.
The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office and Broadnax’s attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
