Lawyers looking to block Texas man's execution following Christa Pike's botched execution

Lawyers for a Texas death row inmate are looking to block his execution following the botched lethal injection attempts against Christa Pike in Tennessee. Jamaal Howard is scheduled for execution by lethal injection on Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. EDT, marking the first time an inmate has been put to death since the incident with Pike — who is still alive days after the state's failed attempts to execute her. His lawyers are looking to stop the execution, citing Texas's drug of choice — pentobarbital — which was also used in Pike’s two botched injections, according to The Associated Press. Howard's lawyers also said they believed the state’s drug supply had become degraded in their appeal to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. On Sept. 30, Pike received two doses of pentobarbital and survived. She was taken from Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in an ambulance to a Nashville-area hospital. Her legal team said Tuesday she was alive and speaking following the lethal doses but sustained "severe damage” to her arms. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) ordered that Pike’s execution be delayed until at least next year. Howard was found guilty of capital murder for killing Vickie Swartout in 2000, when he was 20, during an attempted robbery. According to court filings, Howard took $114 and cigarettes from a store, located about 100 miles north of Houston. Attorneys for Howard previously appealed the execution to the Supreme Court, arguing that he is mentally disabled and thus ineligible for the …