DALLAS – Texas death row inmate James Broadnax is set to be executed on Thursday night for a double murder in Garland in 2008.
While Broadnax confessed to the heinous crime in a viral FOX 4 jailhouse interview, his cousin, Demarius Cummings, now claims he was the one who pulled the trigger.
Earlier this month, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said it would not intervene in the case despite the other man’s claims.
James Broadnax Execution
James Garfield Broadnax | Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice
What’s new:
Broadnax, who is now 37 years old, is set to die by lethal injection on Thursday in Huntsville.
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court rejected both of his appeals asking to stop the execution. That means it will likely happen as scheduled.
The backstory:
Broadnax, who was 19 at the time of his crime, is accused of killing an aspiring Christian singer and his colleague at a recording studio in Garland in 2008.
Broadnax told FOX 4 in a 2008 jailhouse interview that he and his cousin were planning merely to “rob somebody” the night of the double murder. They took the DART train to Garland to target “rich white folks,” Broadnax said in the interview.
The victims were singer Matthew Butler, a father of two, and Stephen Swan, his employee. They were killed outside Butler’s Christian recording studio, Zion Gate Records.
Broadnax and Cummings reportedly netted only $2 from robbing the dead men.
Cummings, also 19 at the time, said he only intended to rob the men.
Broadnax, who admitted to the shooting, expressed no remorse in his interview after the arrests. When asked about what he would say to the victims’ families, Broadnax reportedly replied, “f— ’em.”
In March of this year, Cummings claimed he was the one who shot and killed the two victims, not Broadnax. That’s why he said the DNA evidence found on the gun links back to him, not Broadnax.
However, the state’s highest criminal court issued an opinion stating that even though Cummings stated he pulled the trigger, Broadnax had not recanted his earlier confession.
The opinion went on to state that even if Broadnax’s confession was a lie, it did not justify a due process violation.
The other side:
Texas State Rep. Rhetta Andrews Bowers, who represents Texas House District 13, released the following statement on Broadnax’s scheduled execution:
With a 6:00 PM execution pending, justice must pause today. April 30 is a solemn and consequential day. As the state prepares to carry out the execution of James Broadnax at 6:00 PM, we must be absolutely certain that justice has been fully and fairly served. In this case, there remain serious and unresolved questions that cannot be ignored. To
To proceed under these circumstances is deeply troubling. The weight of this decision is irreversible, and it demands not only legal finality, but moral clarity. When doubt exists, even in the smallest measure, we must choose caution over haste and humanity over finality.
This moment calls for reflection and restraint. Justice must never move forward in the face of uncertainty. The stakes are too high, and the consequences too permanent. Once carried out, there is no remedy – only consequence.
The Source: The information in this story comes from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and past news coverage.
