Texas executes Jamaal Howard a week after Tennessee's failed attempt to put Christa Pike to death

Texas carried out the nation's first execution since Christa Pike survived a lethal injection in Tennessee.

Jamaal Howard was pronounced dead Wednesday night at a Texas prison after receiving a dose of pentobarbital. It is the same drug Tennessee used in its failed attempt to execute Pike on Sept. 30.

The crime

Howard was convicted of fatally shooting convenience store clerk Vickie Swartout during a robbery in 2000. Surveillance video showed him shooting her in the chest before taking $114 along with a carton of cigarettes.

His final words

Before the drug was given, Howard spoke to members of Swartout's family who were watching from a nearby viewing room. He apologized and said he hoped they could one day forgive him.

As the drug took effect, Howard gasped, coughed and made snoring sounds before he stopped moving. He was pronounced dead 19 minutes later.

The fight over the drug

Howard's lawyers had asked the courts to stop the execution. They argued that Texas' supply of pentobarbital could be degraded and could carry risks like those alleged in Pike's case. The courts denied the requests.

Pike survived two doses of the drug. Her attorneys say they believed at one point that she was brain dead before she unexpectedly woke up and began talking. Her lawyers blame blown veins, deteriorated drugs and a lack of emergency medical care. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has halted the state's remaining executions for the year.