The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said Tuesday it won't consider another man's confession as a reason to pause a scheduled lethal injection in three weeks.
James Broadnax was convicted of murdering two Christian music producers in Garland, but his cousin, Demarius Cummings, recently confessed that he was the shooter.
University of Texas School of Law Capital Punishment Clinic professor Jim Marcus said the appeals court acts as a gatekeeper for cases meeting criteria to get back in court.
"Their order last night was not an order saying 'We've reviewed the constitutionality of this and all the allegations and we find no merit to them,' " he said. "Their order is more along the lines of 'There are rules against filing multiple applications that have some limited exceptions and Mr. Brodnax's application doesn't satisfy any of those exceptions.' "
Broadnax's legal team has pending multiple options to put a hold on his scheduled execution, including petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Dallas County district court.
"There are options, but it is disheartening," Marcus said. "Because these decisions by the Court of Criminal Appeals are more often than not unexplained, it makes it more difficult."
Stephen Swan, 26, and Matthew Butler, 28, were robbed and shot in a Garland parking lot after the Christian music producers had left Butler's recording studio.
James Broadnax, then 19, was convicted of capital murder in both deaths.
His cousin's recent sworn statement confessed that Cummings pulled the trigger.
"When [his lawyer] told me on February 20 that James was scheduled to be executed on April 30, 2026, I decided it was time to come clean, and I told him that it was me, and not James, who had shot the two victims," Cumming's confession reads.
He said both of them were high on PCP and marijuana and that he convinced his 19-year-old cousin to take the blame.
Theresa Butler, Matthew's mom, spoke out on social media recently.
"The defense is trying their "Hail Mary Pass" and it's all a lie!!" her public post read. "Don't believe that the latest fake confession, after 17 years, is going to change the cold blooded killer's planned execution date."
Jean Swan, Steve's mother, wrote a letter two years ago urging a Dallas County criminal court judge to choose an execution date.
Got a tip? Email Marina Trahan Martinez at mmartinez@kera.org. You can follow Marina at @HisGirlHildy.
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