Mothers of victims who were shot and killed in 2008 say they want the state to move forward with the convicted killer's execution — despite a new confession by his cousin.
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. Broadnax's cousin, Demarius Cummings, recently confessed that he was the shooter.
Theresa Butler, Matthew's mom, spoke out on social media this week
"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.
That date is April 30.
Before it was set, Swan's sister, Deborah Burkhardt, also wrote to the Dallas County court last November. She asked the judge to sign the execution order.
"Every piece of worthless litigation filed by the defense is another insult and another injury to us, and I have no doubt at this point that the defense will continue to inform you that "now is not an appropriate time to set an execution date" as long as they have breath in their lungs," the letter reads. "There is no end to what they will come up with, or try to put a new spin on."
Broadnax, now 37, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection.
His cousin's sworn statement confesses 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.
Cummings says both of them were high on PCP and marijuana and that he convinced his 19-year-old cousin to take the blame.
His 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. So they lied to police and the media.
Broadnax, then 19, had told KXAS-TV, NBC in an interview from jail that he was ready to face any justice.
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.
Cummings, also now 37, was sentenced to life in prison in 2011 in Dallas County.
He is currently serving his capital murder punishment in Tennessee Colony, Texas.
"My hope is that James will not be executed for committing acts that he did not do," his signed statement reads. "I want to clear my conscience and do not want James to be executed for shooting two people when I was the one who committed those acts."
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.
Craig Watkins was Dallas County's Criminal District Attorney during the trial, but current DA John Creuzot and assistant DA Michelle O'Brien Yeatts filed a brief to the Supreme Court opposing the request to pause the execution.
The Supreme Court appeal filing says characterizing Broadnax's lyrics as "gangster rap" was racially biased.
Texas rapper Travis Scott and Young Thug are among 30 artists, activists and actors who have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause the state's death row execution.
People may not understand that musicians' rap lyrics are not necessarily realistic, according to the Supreme Court brief filed on behalf of Houston rapper Travis Scott.
Lawyers say Broadnax's civil rights were violated during trial because Black jurors were excluded from serving.
Burkhardt, Swan's sister, included in her letter that Dallas County's Conviction Integrity Unit seemed to give former DA Craig Watkins, its creator, a sense of accomplishment and achievement by exonerating people who had been wrongfully or unfairly convicted.
"...I believe his personal involvement in Mr. Broadnax's case removes all shadow of a doubt in my mind that any unfair advantage was given to the prosecution. He was very attentive and seemed to care a great deal that trials conducted in Dallas County during his tenure would be fair in all aspects, including jury selection, pressing suitable charges and seeking appropriate sentencing, both to victims and to defendants."
Got a tip? Email Marina Trahan Martinez at mmartinez@kera.org. You can follow Marina at @HisGirlHildy.
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