Texas Death Row Inmate Executed in 2008 Double Murder Case; Wife’s Final Three Words Draw Attention

A Texas death row inmate James Broadnax, 37, was executed by lethal injection on April 30 for the fatal 2008 robbery that claimed the lives of two people. It was, however, his wife Tiana Krasniqi's last words to Broadnax, whom she married just weeks before his execution, that drew attention.

Krasniq screamed, “I love you” as Broadnax received the lethal injection. Broadnax was pronounced dead around 6:47 p.m. at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, about 70 miles north of Houston.

In his final statement, Broadnax asked for forgiveness from the victims’ families. “I wish I could show them my soul so they could see just how sorry I am. I am very much remorseful for everything that happened,” Broadnax said.

During a fatal robbery in 2008, Broadnax and his cousin, Demarius Cummings, shot Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler in the parking lot of Butler’s recording studio in Garland. Broadnax was sentenced to death, while his cousin is serving life in prison without possibility of a parole.

Broadnax’s attorneys tried to stop his execution following a confession from Cummings. In a video from prison, he said, “I’m really gonna tell it like it’s supposed to be told, that it was me, that I was the killer. I shot Matthew Bullard, Steve Swan.”

Broadnax’s legal team argued in the court filings that the confession is “corroborated by the fact that his DNA, and not Mr. Broadnax’s, was found on the murder weapon and in the pocket of one of the victims.”

Broadnax's attorneys argued his constitutional rights were violated because prosecutors allegedly dismissed all seven potential Black jurors for his trial. Although one Black juror was later reinstated, court filings allege state prosecutors “used a spreadsheet during jury selection that bolded only the names of every Black juror.”

Broadnax’s legal team also argued in an earlier appeal that prosecutors misused his rap lyrics to portray him as a violent person and secure a death sentence. On April 30, the appeal to stop his execution was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Prosecutors said Broadnax confessed, saying, “I pulled the trigger” during jailhouse interviews and allegedly showed no remorse. The Texas Attorney General’s Office said Cummings’ confession to the killing was "questionable new evidence.”

The statement added that the claim that Black jurors were dismissed based on race is “entirely meritless.”

Meanwhile, Theresa Butler, the mother of Matthew Butler, urged the execution to proceed.

In a social media post, she said, “This so called confession from Cummings is just a stall tactic by Broadnax’s desperate defense team. Its all a lie.”

Broadnax was executed after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied his request for a 180-day reprieve or to commute his execution.