Hey there, folks. It is Wednesday, April twenty ninth, and the state of Texas is set to execute a man. But here's the thing. They're going to execute him for a murder that another man has confessed too. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Robes. This is one of two executions scheduled for this evening in the US, one in Florida, this one in Texas, and this one has all kinds of appeals flying around. You got rappers involved and another confession. This is a doozy of a case.
It certainly is.
We're talking about thirty seven year old James Broadnacks. But Scotis, the Supreme Court of the United States, has denied all of those appeals you were just talking about because this has been a headline maker, a headline grabber, because of some of the powerful folks who have been on his side.
Yeah, and you have issues here, Robes, involving race. You have issues involving rap and we're going to get to both of them. But the crime here is a heinous one. It's a double murder. He was convicted of convicted of committing it along with his cousin. Now Robes you make this point, James Broadnax is on death row. He's thirty seven years old. It's almost like a wait what And the crime was helped me with the.
Year two thousand and nine.
So I just said, wow, we have covered so many executions and I can't think of one where the crime had two thousand something in front of it. We've been dealing with crimes that happened as far back as the nineteen seventies, nineteen eighties, nineteen nineties. It's rare that a case goes from being adjudicated to an execution this quickly.
Frankly, yeah, and he is a really it's got crazy. He's a really young man, thirty seven year old because he was nineteen rogue? Do you think about this? This guy's on death row And we always use the comparison because Analysa is still nineteen right, right to think he was nineteen years old when he, according to authorities, according to him, decided to go out and get high on marijuana and PCP and go run around with his cousin
looking for somebody to rob. And sure enough they found somebody to rob, two young men who were music producers outside of a studio. There they meant to rob them, shot them, both killed them, both took off in their car. Eventually one of their own family members called turned them in. They got called. They both confessed, not just confessed ropes,
they confessed on camera. For whatever reason, James Broadnaxt decided he wanted to be a TV star and did a bunch of interviews with a bunch of local TV stations from the jailhouse, saying what he did.
Yeah, they both brought next and his cousin corrected separate jailhouse interviews, confessing, telling, telling the world what they had done.
Open and shutcase.
Guess they didn't have good at attorneys.
I do not know what it's about. And I've seen them. You've seen some of the videos of them smiling at times, and some of these videos and posing and pictures and images we've seen. Who knows what was going on. But the people they killed were twenty eight and twenty six years old.
These were young men, and they had children, They had young families, Steven Swan and Matthew Butler, and I from what I have read, their wives and their children. Obviously it was they happened at such a young age. They lost their lives at twenty six and twenty eight. But yes they've gone on, and yes they've built lives of the anger is so fresh they want this execution to happen well.
And now Robes, this is one where we don't know now the other one we had discussed. You could check out the episode we have on that one in Florida. It's on the feed right before right after you have to help me.
There'd be, it'd be on the feed right before this episode we go over the details of the Florida execution that's also taking place on Thursday at six pms.
Okay, so that one doesn't seem like much of a chance. All the appeals have been exhausted. This one is a little bit of a different situation. I'm not saying it has a good chance for things to stop get stopped. But he still has at least one appeal out there that's pending. But he had two others that have been kind of dealt away with. And Robes, these were like strong and interesting I mean appeals here or grounds for appeal.
I guess they were throwing everything at it, but it had to do with race, robes and of all things rap lyrics. These are the basis for two of their appeals.
And part of the rap lyrics appeal was that basically because of those lyrics he was using, they used it against him, basically saying that he wanted to die or that it explain how they use the rap lyrics to actually use it to sentence.
Him to Yeah, isn't that crazy? They the rap lyrics, they say, were not a part of his trial, but during sentencing, they brought up rap lyrics that he wrote in his own spare time, doing his own thing, just as an independent wasn't some artists. They just had some rap lyrics of his. Now, if you listen to hardcore rap, if you take that stuff literally, every single rapper should be arrested. But it's the argument is it was art.
But they said this brought up so many questions and put in the jurors minds, which were eleven white, one black. It brought up racial stereotypes and it didn't separate the art for what it was, and instead they thought he was some monster that was literally what he was writing lyrics about. And that was one of their appeals was based on. It didn't go anywhere and.
In the courtroom, the jury, when you know they're deliberating, they asked for questions, They asked to read the lyrics, which pointed to the fact that they were leaning on those lyrics when they were deciding whether or not to sentence him to death.
Yes, that's so, it mattered. So you have folks the likes of Ti what Young Thug was one you mentioned, Travis Scott have actually all written friend of the court briefings.
Yeah, Fat Joe, record executive, Kevin Lyles, Anthony Anderson, actor and comedian also weighing in. So yeah, a bunch of big names were behind that part of the appeal.
And the way they put it his defense attorneys they turned artistic expression into a death warrant. But the argument here is that they are using lyrics as evidence of criminality or to enhance a criminal defendant's sentence, and so there is concern about that to the point that enough folks in the industry at least thought it was worth
speaking on. Now, the other issue that's dangling, I say, has one more appeal role was because somebody said they confess they are the ones they're actually saying he is not the one who killed these two men. And who could say that other than the person who was there with him, right, Yes.
His cousin, Demarius Cummings.
And so he has given a sworn AFFI David saying he was the shooter. And he claims that he convinced Broadnaxt to take the blame because he had a worse rap sheet that apparently Broadnacks had something only very minor on his rap sheet, And so they figured if he said he was the one who pulled the trigger, if he was the one who actually did the shootings, that he would get off a little easier than Damarius Cummings would. But it turned out quite the opposite.
Awfully convenient that this is coming up now.
Yes it is, and that I'm sure is going to be a part of the consideration that consider the source and consider the timing.
Okay, consider both, and we do have to consider that the cousin is also spending life in prison right now without the possibility of parole.
Nothing to lose.
Sure, now do you buy this part of it? Robes He claims that he's only coming forward now and only thought it was important to do so because he's only now finding out that his cousin had a death date set if.
You will, Yeah, his execution date had been set so that is why he figured now would be the time to admit, by the way, I was the one who actually committed the murder.
Any little part of you getting close to buying that not really okay? So we here it is the words from the cousin now who says he was the trigger man says it was not his cousin that's going to die tomorrow by Lethland Jackson. No, no, no, it wasn't him that pulled the trigger. The cousin is saying it was
actually me, and he said this in his affidavit. When mister Herzog, the attorney, told me on February twentieth that James was scheduled to be executed on April thirtieth, I decided it was time to come clean, and I told him that it was me and not James who had shot the victims. 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. It was my decision to come clean with the facts
set forth above and sign this declaration. How does that sound to you?
I mean, yes, it sounds convenient.
Unfortunately, I mean the problem is is there any proof to back up what he's saying?
Is this just a he said?
He said, does any of the evidence, Do any of the forensic support what he is saying?
That would be the question that I would.
Have and the question, and you please help me. I think I'm necessarily putting on the spot. We were talking about it before we started here. There were some things they were pointing to and think they were about the gun and DNA, suggesting that they did have a way of showing improving that it was the cousin.
Correct, there was something put forward that that the gun had the DNA of Broadnaxx's cousin, and he said, the reason why it was only my DNA on that gun is because I was the one who shot it. Now, I didn't see anything to back it up or any verification of that, but that is what he is claiming that the DNA, only his DNA was on the gun, not broad Nax's, and that bolsters his point. There's a reason for that. It's because I was the one who actually pulled the trigger.
Well, so far, any court this has brought before has said no, they're not going to listen, They're not going to consider the confession at all. They don't have a reason to consider the confession. So there's one other appeal that's dangling out there, so we might have a chance. But here's the thing, Robes, So what even if it turns out that he was not the one who pulled the trigger, law says he could still be the one to get the death penalty. Stay here, explain. We continue
here on Amy and TJ. On a week that the US is said to have two executions on the same night Tomorrow night, April thirtieth, one execution set for Flora, the other in Texas that we've been discussing here, Robes. The one we're discussing here James broadnaxt sentence for a double murder in which he was convicted of being the trigger man in a double murder. His cousin has come forward said no, no, no, no, I was the one, not James,
who pulled the trigger. But Robes, it actually does not matter legally speaking, they have a different way of saying it. They're in Texas, but whereas it's South Carolina where you spend time. This is the law. It doesn't matter actually who pulled the trigger.
That's in South Carolina. It is called the hand of one is the hand of all. And I actually watched a young man be sentenced to death as.
Well in that state for not.
Even being the person who pulled the trigger, but just being in the group where a pregnant woman was killed. And so that has been on the books for quite some time. Is it called the law of parties in the state of Texas, So that would rain true. But I'm actually curious because yes, that could lead to a conviction of a murder conviction, a first degree murder conviction, even if he didn't pull the trigger. But wouldn't you be looked at potentially differently in terms of what you're
sentencing is life in prison versus the death penalty? Because his cousin, who I guess, was convicted despite not being the triggerman. He was given life in prison, so he's not facing the death penalty. His cousin is Broadnacks is because he was said to be the trigger man.
And Robes, do you remember we had another case. I can't remember what state it was. Family members think it might have been brothers, and the guy who was sentenced to death didn't pull the trigger, correct, and there was a kind of fun I do remember this isn't that so it yes? To your point is the argument that some of his defense attorneys are making is that, yes, a jury could have sentenced him to the same thing
and had the right to do so. But if they would have heard a different set of circumstances, would they have That is the point, Robes, And you'd have to say probably not.
I would think probably not.
But you never know, and he isn't going to get the chance to know because that would require a new hearing, a re sentencing hearing, and that seems highly unlikely at this point, and the parole.
Board has told him no. The governor is not going to step in, but they do have, I believe, Robes. One appeal dangling out there, based on the confession that might be an option.
Is that the Texas Supreme Court, basically the state supreme court there in Texas.
I'm not sure who it's before.
But it's before some sort of an appellate court, and they're considering whether or not to take into consideration the fact that his cousin has now confessed to being the triggerment.
Because the race appeal option is gone and the rap appeal, the wrap appeal option is gone, so he has one last time. But if not, rolls, we're going to end up seeing two executions on the same night in the United States. I think they're scheduled an hour apart, correct in the US. So yeah, folks, we'll keep an eye on it because roads that this past several have gone smoothly,
if you will. But a lot of people keep an eye on these because of these drugs that are used that sometimes it's still you can argue robes experimenting with to a certain degree, but folk would appreciate you spending time with us. It's always on behalf of my dear Amy robot. I'm tjing talk soon, m hm.