Just six weeks before James Broadnax faces execution for the 2008 fatal shooting of two Christian music producers in Garland, his cousin has claimed he killed them.
Broadnax, now 37, was convicted in Dallas County in 2009 for robbing, shooting and killing Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler.
He is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on April 30.
His cousin, Demarius Cummings, has confessed in a sworn statement that he pulled the trigger.
Cummings's statement claims that he and Broadnax agreed to tell the story that Broadnax was the shooter because he did not have a prior criminal record. Cummings did.
Both convicted men would remain eligible for a capital murder charge. A sentence of death life or life in prison are the only options.
Broadnax's lawyers said they would likely fight the "law of parties" rule that makes anyone associated with the same crime subject to the same charges.
Lawyers for Broadnax are asking the Dallas County District Attorney's office to vacate the execution date, and for the state court of appeals to pause the date.
The legal team, led by Steven Herzog, filed Supreme Court appeals within the last month hoping to temporarily stop the execution and have time to more carefully review evidence and procedures from the trial, said media representative Allen Ripp of New York.
The Supreme Court appeal filing says characterizing Broadnax's lyrics as "gangster rap" was racially biased.
They say his civil rights were violated during trial because Black jurors were excluded from serving.
Then, at age 19, Broadnax told KXAS-TV, NBC in an interview from jail that he was ready to face any justice.
Got a tip? Email Marina Trahan Martinez at mmartinez@kera.org. You can follow Marina at @HisGirlHildy.
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