Tonight, April 30, 2026, the State of Texas is scheduled to execute James Broadnax for murders he did not commit. James’s cousin, Demarius Cummings, was sentenced to life without parole for his role in the crime. Demarius now admits that he is the one who killed Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler during a robbery outside their music studio in Dallas in 2008, not James. His admission is corroborated by the presence of his DNA on the murder weapon and on one of the victims.
This new evidence fundamentally undermines the State’s case for James’s murder conviction and death sentence. James should not receive a more severe punishment than the person who actually committed the killings.
Another concern is that James’s trial was tainted by racial bias. Dallas County prosecutors deliberately removed all prospective Black jurors from the jury pool so that James, who is Black, was convicted by a nearly all-white jury. Outrageously, this has been a common practice in Dallas for decades.
James was just 19 years old at the time of the crime and had no history of violence. Yet during the sentencing phase of the trial, prosecutors introduced rap lyrics he had written, describing them as “gangster rap” and claiming they were his “self-admission” of his criminal “mentality” in their effort to persuade jurors he would be a continuing threat to society. These arguments exploited racial stereotypes traditionally associated with rap lyrics and the Black community to transform James’s artistic expression into a death warrant.
The latest developments
On Tuesday, April 28, 2026, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted against recommending clemency for James. As is their usual practice, the board members did not provide any explanation for why they voted against granting a 180-day reprieve or commuting James’s sentence to life in prison without parole—the punishment imposed on his cousin, Demarius.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of the United States denied two of James’s appeals, one based on the use of rap lyrics as evidence of future dangerousness and another based on racial bias in the jury selection process.
The Supreme Court Justices are still considering whether to grant a stay to consider James’s latest appeal. His attorneys argue that new evidence undermines the basis for his conviction and capital sentence, and that his trial was plagued by violations of his Constitutional rights.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott can also stop the execution by using his authority to grant a one-time 30-day reprieve.
More than 86,000 supporters signed a petition urging clemency for James. State legislators, faith leaders, musicians and artists, a member of the jury that sentenced James to death, and many others are also speaking out.
If Texas puts James Broadnax to death, he will be the 67th person convicted in Dallas County to be executed and the 599th person executed by Texas since 1982.
Florida is also scheduled to carry out an execution tonight. James Hitchcock is set to be put to death despite evidence that he did not commit the crime.