Howard, convicted in 2000 of capital murder after shooting convenience‑store clerk Vickie Swartout, was pronounced dead at 8:03 p.m. after receiving a fatal dose of pentobarbital at Huntsville State Prison.
The injection began with a series of snoring sounds and brief breaths before the lethal drug took effect; Howard fell silent within 30 seconds and was declared dead 19 minutes later.
Witnesses, including Howard's sister, watched the final moments from a separate room and were assisted by corrections officers to exit after the execution; the family expressed grief while the state documented the procedure.
Howard's attorneys had sought to block the execution on the grounds of intellectual disability and drug quality concerns, but the U.S. Supreme Court denied the request, clearing the way for the state to carry out two additional executions later this year.