Tonight, April 30, 2026, the State of Texas executed James Broadnax for murders he did not commit. James was sentenced to death at age 20 by a nearly all-white jury in Dallas in 2009. His case raised serious concerns, including the use of his rap lyrics as evidence of his “future dangerousness,” the exclusion of Black jurors, and a recent confession by his co-defendant, Demarius Cummings, that he was responsible for killing Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler during a robbery outside their music studio, not James.
Demarius was sentenced to life without parole for his role in the crime. His admission is corroborated by the presence of his DNA on the murder weapon and on one of the victims.
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.
Despite these unaddressed issues, and despite evidence of James’s personal growth, rehabilitation, and commitment to mentoring others during his nearly two decades on death row, state and federal courts and Governor declined to intervene, and clemency was denied.
In a statement provided after the execution, his attorneys and wife shared that “James was a caring, thoughtful, spiritual and deeply intelligent person who positively impacted all who came to know him. He will be missed by all of us and by his family and many friends. James spoke often of his feelings for the families of Mr. Swan and Mr. Butler, and about his remorse for his role in these crimes, and our thoughts at this time are with their families as well, as James’ were.”
Read the statement by his wife and legal team.
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 also spoke out against the injustice of executing James when the man who pulled the trigger is serving a life sentence.
James Broadnax is the third person executed by Texas this year. He is 67th person convicted in Dallas County to be executed and the 599th person executed by Texas since 1982.
Florida also carried out an execution tonight. James Hitchcock was put to death despite evidence that he did not commit the crime.