On October 7, 2026, the State of Texas is scheduled to execute Jamaal Howard for killing clerk Vicki Swartout while robbing a gas station in 2000 in Silsbee, Texas (Hardin County). He was 20 at the time of the crime and has spent more than half of his life on death row.
Howard’s application for clemency with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor
Greg Abbott raises two key issues:
- Evidence of his intellectual disability
- His longstanding severe mental illness, which started to manifest when he was a teenager and included auditory hallucinations at the time of the crime
Signs of Howard’s severe mental illness became apparent around age 15, when he began to withdraw from family and friends and experience voices and sounds that he described as “taking over his mind.”
Two separate juries considered whether he was competent to stand trial. The first jury deadlocked on that question, but the second jury found him competent and the trial proceeded.
An expert who evaluated Howard before his 2001 trial diagnosed him with schizophrenia. At this same time, his IQ was assessed to be between 65 and 70.
Fifteen years later, during his federal appeals, a psychiatrist confirmed the diagnosis of schizophrenia while another expert determined his full-scale IQ score to be 74, which is within the range of borderline intellectual functioning.
In the decades that Howard has spent on death row, he has responded well to medication to quell his hallucinations.
Neither his intellectual disability nor severe mental illness excuse Howard’s actions, but they do provide critical context and call into question the appropriateness of his death sentence.
How you can help
Howard is seeking the commutation of his death sentence to a lesser penalty.
Please email the members of the Texas Board and Pardons and Paroles directly at bpp_clemency@tdcj.texas.gov to urge them to recommend clemency for Jamaal Howard (include his TDCJ #999383 and DOB 02/08/1980 in your appeals).
You can use our sample message below or craft your own email. Contact information for the Board and Governor is also below.Please contact the Board by this Friday, October 2, 2026.
Here is a sample email message to send to the Board of Pardons and Paroles and/or submit on the Governor’s opinion page:
Sample message
Dear Chair Moberley and Members of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles,
I am writing to urge you to commute the death sentence of Jamaal Howard (#999383 and DOB 02/08/1980), who faces execution on October 7, 2026, for killing Vicki Swartout during a gas station robbery in Silsbee, Texas. Howard was 20 years old and in the throes of his severe mental illness, including auditory hallucinations, at the time.
Approximately five years before the crime, Howard began to exhibit signs of mental illness, including experiencing voices and sounds that he described as “taking over his mind.” Around this same time, his IQ was assessed to be between 65 and 70.
During his trial in 2001, a jury impaneled to determine whether he was competent to stand trial
deadlocked, requiring a second jury. An expert who evaluated Howard before the trial diagnosed him with schizophrenia. Fifteen years later, during his federal appeals, a psychiatrist confirmed the diagnosis while another expert determined his full-scale IQ score to be 74, which is within the range of borderline intellectual functioning.
The Board and Governor Abbott are uniquely positioned to consider evidence both of Howard’s intellectual disability and severe mental illness. Neither of these impairments excuse his actions, but they do substantially diminish his culpability and call into question the appropriateness of his death sentence and moral blameworthiness.
I strongly urge you to grant clemency to this impaired man, whose mental health is now being treated successfully with medication and who poses a threat to no one.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Your name
City & State