The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied two appeals from Dallas County death row inmate James Broadnax three days ahead of his scheduled execution.
Broadnax, 37, made two appeals to the Supreme Court in an attempt to halt his execution: one alleging the use of rap lyrics as evidence against Broadnax during trial was unconstitutional, and another arguing prosecutors struck Black prospective jurors from the selection pool, resulting in a nearly all-white jury.
Without comment, the high court denied both. Broadnax was sentenced to death in 2009 for robbing and killing two Christian music producers in Garland.
"James continues to maintain faith and stoicism and belief that his case will still have a chance to be heard and that his life will be spared," said Allan Ripp, a spokesperson for Broadnax's legal team.
Still pending is Broadnax's appeal after his cousin, Demarius Cummings, confessed in a sworn statement last month to being the shooter. Cummings said he convinced Broadnax — then 19 years old — to take the blame for the shooting while they were both high on PCP and marijuana. Cummings decided to come clean after finding out two months ago that Broadnax was scheduled to die, he said.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled earlier this month it wouldn't consider Cummings' confession as a reason to pause Broadnax's execution.
Broadnax, who is Black, alleged in Supreme Court filings that prosecutors using his lyrics as evidence in the sentencing phase of his trial and characterizing the music as "gangster rap" was racially biased. The issue attracted support from rappers like Young Thug and Travis Scott, the latter of whom wrote in an amicus brief that lyrics in the genre shouldn't always be interpreted literally.
Sheri Johnson, a professor at the Cornell Law School who has been a consultant on Broadnax's case, said the use of his lyrics as evidence underscores the significance of Black prospective jurors allegedly being struck from the pool because of their race.
"There are obvious reasons for the state engaging in jury selection discrimination," Johnson said, "and that's that they made racially inflammatory arguments in the process of the trial, arguments that would have been more attractive to white jurors than to Black jurors."
Broadnax is scheduled for execution via lethal injection Thursday.
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