05/01/2026
James Broadnax was just executed by the people of Texas even though another man confessed to the killings and DNA evidence makes it clear he was not the shooter. The crime was heinous. This ex*****on was too.
There was never any evidence James was the shooter other than a confession made to the press without a lawyer present, while high on hallucinogenics, and with the false hope that doing so would spare his cousin, Demarius Cummings, who had a violent criminal record, from the death penalty.
Cummings has since admitted that he planned the robbery, he obtained the gun, and he shot the two victims. DNA evidence from the murder weapon and one of the victims corroborates this new confession. But the courts, the district attorney, the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the Governor all refused to fully review this new evidence before allowing the ex*****on to proceed.
James Broadnax participated in a robbery and deserved to be punished for that. He did not deserve to be executed for a crime he did not commit.
Broadnax used his final statement to ask for the families to forgive him and say:
“But no matter what you think of me, Texas got it wrong.”
