USA: Two executions on the same day—James Hitchcock executed in Florida and James Broadnax executed in Texas

In the United States, two men were executed within just over an hour of each other. In Texas, it was James Broadnax; shortly before that, it was James Hitchcock in Florida. Both cases are controversial.

James Hitchcock

On Thursday evening, 70-year-old James Ernest (“Erny”) Hitchcock was executed by lethal injection by the state of Florida. He had been sentenced to death for allegedly murdering his brother’s 13-year-old stepdaughter in July 1976 and spent nearly 50 years on death row.

Hitchcock maintained his innocence—he admitted to having sex with the girl but denied killing her. As a 20-year-old, having consensual sex with a 13-year-old was a crime of which he was guilty—but the murder, he claimed, was committed by his brother Richard.

It wasn’t until about 20 years after the crime and shortly after his death that various family members came forward publicly, stating that Richard Hitchcock had confessed the murder to them.

“Many of these witnesses explained that they had remained silent for years because they were terrified of Richard, who had died less than two years before Erny’s fourth and final conviction. It was only after his death that these numerous witnesses finally felt safe enough to come forward.” So stated the organization “Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty” (FADP) in its statement. However, these witness statements were not admitted in court, even though they could have significantly altered the verdict.

FADP: “The disregarded witness statements were concrete and compelling: One witness testified that Richard had admitted to murdering the girl in Florida and had blamed his brother Erny for it. Another witness testified that Richard had explicitly stated that Erny did not commit this murder.”

And further: “Several women described Richard’s longstanding violence toward women and girls—including sexual abuse, choking attacks, and threats. One witness testified that Richard had choked her about twenty times. Another said he had threatened her that the same thing would happen to her as to the girl allegedly strangled by his brother.”

Florida has thus carried out a death sentence—nearly 50 years after the crime—in a case where there are at least serious doubts regarding the defendant’s guilt.

James Broadnax

On Thursday evening, 37-year-old James Broadnax was executed in Huntsville, Texas, by lethal injection—an overdose of pentobarbital. He had been sentenced to death for allegedly robbing and killing two music producers in the parking lot outside their studio in June 2008, together with his cousin, Damarius Cummings.

The case has proven controversial in the weeks leading up to the execution because Cummings, who is serving a life sentence, recently stated that he, not Broadnax, had shot the two victims, aged 26 and 28. Neither the courts nor the Board of Pardons and Paroles nor the governor were swayed by this—Broadnax had ultimately confessed after the crime, so Damarius Cummings was convicted as an accomplice and not as the principal perpetrator.

As Cummings now explained, he had pressured Broadnax to take the blame because he himself had no prior convictions. And Broadnax, who at the time was addicted to hallucinogenic drugs and, feeling suicidal, was seeking an escape from his life, did what Cummings asked of him.

In their briefs to the Supreme Court, Broadnax’s attorneys argued that Cummings’ confession was corroborated by the fact that his DNA—and not Broadnax’s—was found on the murder weapon and in one of the victims’ pockets.

Further arguments by the defense centered on the fact that potential Black jurors were systematically excluded by the prosecution.

During the sentencing phase of the trial, the prosecutor cited rap lyrics from Broadnax’s notebook to secure the death penalty. The prosecution selected song lyrics that allegedly alluded to gang affiliation and shootings to convince the jury that he should receive the death penalty instead of life in prison, according to his attorneys.

In his final statement, Broadnax insisted one last time that he was not the shooter in the double murder, while also asking the victims’ families for forgiveness for his role in the crime.

Sources:
https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2026/04/30/james-ernest-hitchcock-execution-florida-death-row-cynthia-driggers/
https://www.fadp.org/statement-on-the-execution-of-james-erny-hitchcock/
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/30/texas-james-broadnax-execution/
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/article/james-broadnax-texas-execution-live-updates-22232220.php
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/30/us/james-broadnax-execution-texas-fatal-robbery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0ocdkw9OM