Lawyers seek to block today

Lawyers for a Texas man who fatally shot a convenience store clerk are asking a judge to stay his execution by lethal injection set for Wednesday, citing the failed execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee last week.

Because the same drug used in her attempted execution — pentobarbital — would be used in Texas for Jamaal Howard, his attorneys argued the drug poses the same risks, and said they believe the state's supply had become degraded.

In a statement Tuesday, her attorneys said she was "conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care," but noted "her prognosis remains unclear" and "at a minimum" they "expect a long recovery."

One of her attorneys, Steve Ferrell, told "CBS Mornings" on Monday that doctors were working to clear her body of the pentobarbital and that she was on a ventilator.

Her attorneys have alleged her execution was marred by blown veins, where a needle goes all the way through a vein and causes a leak of blood and fluid, as well as Tennessee's deteriorated pentobarbital and a lack of emergency medical care.

Texas has executed six people so far this year, with two more scheduled after Howard, which would be the 30th execution nationwide in 2026.

Howard, 46, was found guilty of capital murder in the 2000 killing of Vickie Swartout, 42, who was shot once in the chest during a robbery. Evidence presented at the trial included the store's surveillance video, which showed Howard shooting Swartout.

Howard, who was 20 at the time, took $114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store in the small, rural town of Silsbee, located about 100 miles northeast of Houston, according to court records.

He has an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court pending to stop the execution.

The Texas attorney general opinion is not expected to be returned until after Wednesday, meaning Howard can't litigate whatever decision the state might make on releasing that information, they say.

Tennessee's Republican Gov. Bill Lee has halted the one remaining execution for the rest of the year.

Hasan is set to die by firing squad in what will be the first military execution since 1961. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said late Monday the plan to use an Army firing squad was recommended by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and approved by President Trump.