Execution of James Broadnax to continue after Supreme Court denies petition, state parole board votes against commutation
The state of Texas is set to move forward with the execution of James Garfield Broadnax on Thursday, nearly two decades after a double murder unfolded in North Texas.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Broadnax's petition for a stay of execution. A day later, all seven members of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted against both a commutation of his sentence and a 180-day reprieve of execution.
Broadnax is one of two confessed suspects in the June 2008 killing of Matt Butler and Steve Swan in front of a recording studio in Garland. However, Demarius Cummings – who is Broadnax's cousin and a co-defendant in the case – said the idea to rob both Swan and Butler was his and that he obtained the gun used that evening in a declaration shared earlier this year.
"I persuaded James to take the blame for shooting the two victims. In fact, I was the one who shot the two victims, not James," Cummings submitted.
Both Broadnax and Cummings were 19 years old when the shooting happened.
In an interview with CBS News Texas anchor and reporter Steve Pickett, Cummings admitted to conspiring with his cousin to rob someone. Cummings was convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence with no possibility for parole.
Separately, Broadnax confessed to killing the men during a separate profanity-laced interview with Pickett, detailing how he shot both men multiple times.
"I don't think I got a conscience," he said.
Broadnax was sentenced to death after his murder conviction. He's been on death row since 2009 and declined an interview request. He has also not made any statement regarding the new confession from his cousin as of March 2026.
At the beginning of Cummings' trial in 2011, Jean and Craig Swan spoke up about their son.
"He was a brilliant young man" Jean Swan said. "He was an engineer and he was a musician. "It's hard to say how good he was."
The Swans said at the time they were disappointed that the Dallas County District Attorney's Office didn't seek the death penalty for Cummings.