\n<\/p>\n
HOUSTON — <\/span>A North Texas man who claims he was not the shooter in a fatal robbery that killed two people nearly 18 years ago and who says prosecutors misused rap lyrics<\/a> he wrote to secure his death sentence<\/a> faced execution Thursday evening. <\/p>\n James Broadnax was sentenced to death for the 2008 shooting deaths of two men outside a suburban Dallas music studio. Prosecutors say Broadnax and his cousin, Demarius Cummings, fatally shot and robbed Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler in the parking lot of Butler\u2019s recording studio in Garland. Cummings was sentenced to life without parole. <\/p>\n Prosecutors say Broadnax, 37, confessed to the shooting, telling reporters during jailhouse interviews that \u201cI pulled the trigger\u201d and that he had no remorse.<\/p>\n Broadnax was scheduled to receive a lethal injection after 6 p.m. CDT at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Houston. <\/p>\n His attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his execution, filing multiple final appeals after lower courts declined to stop the lethal injection.<\/p>\n His lawyers have focused his final appeals on two issues: Cummings has recently confessed to being the shooter; and Broadnax\u2019s constitutional rights were violated because prosecutors eliminated potential jurors during his trial on the basis of race.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really gonna tell it like it\u2019s supposed to be told, that it was me, that I was the killer. I shot Matthew Bullard, Steve Swann,\u201d Cummings said recently from prison in a video created as part of the efforts to stop Broadnax\u2019s execution.<\/p>\n Broadnax\u2019s attorneys say in filings with the high court that Cummings\u2019 confession is \u201ccorroborated by the fact that his DNA, and not Mr. Broadnax\u2019s, was found on the murder weapon and in the pocket of one of the victims.\u201d<\/p>\n In the video, Broadnax said his confession was false as at the time he didn\u2019t care about his life. Broadnax\u2019s lawyers say he was under the influence of drugs during the television interviews.<\/p>\n He also apologized to the families of Butler and Swan for taking part in the robbery.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish I could show them my soul, so they could see just how sorry I am. I am very much remorseful for everything that happened,\u201d Broadnax said.<\/p>\n His attorneys also allege prosecutors dismissed all seven potential Black jurors on the basis of their race, \u201cutilizing a spreadsheet during jury selection that bolded only the names of every Black juror,\u201d according to court documents. One Black juror was later reinstated to the jury. Broadnax is Black. <\/p>\n In a 1986 ruling known as Batson v. Kentucky<\/a>, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that excluding jurors because of their race violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.<\/p>\n Broadnax\u2019s attorneys had argued in an earlier appeal that prosecutors had violated his constitutional rights by using some of the rap lyrics he wrote to portray him as a violent and dangerous person in order to secure a death sentence. A number of A-list rappers, including Travis Scott,<\/a>T.I.<\/a> and Killer Mike<\/a>, had filed briefs at the Supreme Court in support of Broadnax\u2019s appeal.<\/p>\n But the high court rejected that appeal as well as another that focused on how forensic evidence was presented at his trial.<\/p>\n The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Tuesday denied Broadnax\u2019s request for a 180-day reprieve or to commute his death sentence.<\/p>\n The Texas Attorney General\u2019s Office has described Cummings\u2019 confession as the shooter as \u201cquestionable new evidence.\u201d It also said in court documents that Broadnax\u2019s claims that potential Black jurors were targeted for removal are \u201centirely meritless\u201d as these jurors were stricken not because of race but because of their answers during questioning, including that some opposed the death penalty.<\/p>\n Theresa Butler, Matthew Butler\u2019s mother, has asked that the execution proceed.<\/p>\n \u201cThis so called confession from cummings is just a stall tactic by broadnax\u2019s desperate defense team. Its all a lie,\u201d Butler wrote in a post on social media.<\/p>\n If the execution is carried out, Broadnax would be the third person put to death this year in Texas, which has historically held more executions than any other state.<\/p>\n About an hour before Broadnax’s scheduled execution on Thursday, Florida is set to put to death James Ernest Hitchcock, 70, for beating and choking his 13-year-old step-niece to death. <\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Follow Juan A. Lozano: https:\/\/x.com\/juanlozano70<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n