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Crime

Stephen Swan, 26, and Matthew Butler, 28, left a Garland, Texas music studio on the night of June 19th, 2008.

Both were fatally shot in the parking lot. The killers took off in Swan’s vehicle. The car was pulled over hours later. Inside it were cousins James Broadnax and Demarius Cummings.

Both men were arrested and charged with murder. While Broadnax was awaiting trial, he gave a couple of TV interviews in which he confessed to being the shooter and showed no remorse.

Cummings also did interviews, admitting that they only got $2 after killing the men and robbing them.

Cummings got life without parole.

At Broadnax’s trial, his defense blamed his rough upbringing for his actions.

Theroot reported that the prosecution used rap lyrics written by Broadnax to show he was a threat to society.

The jury convicted him of capital murder.

He was sentenced to death. Afterward, his attorney blamed the TV interviews, saying, “I’ve never seen a guy talk his way onto death row before, but we have now.”

Execution date set

In early 2026, Broadnax’s execution was scheduled for April 30th, 2026, at 6 pm. Despite spending most of his adult life behind bars, the double murderer is married, and his wife, Tiana Broadnax, is fighting for his life.

She has social media accounts on Facebook and TikTok, and posts frequently with many of the things that she says prove her husband was not the shooter and did not get a fair trial.

Rappers Speak Out

As I mentioned above, rap lyrics handwritten by Broadnax were used against him at his trial. According to Theroot, at least 30 rappers, including Travis Scott, Killer Mike, and Young Thug have spoken out about how this violates freedom of speech.

They also feel that it can take advantage of anti-rap bias to convict black suspects.

Cummings Takes the blame

In March 2026, Foxnews4 reported that Cummings confessed in a sworn statement that he was the shooter and not Broadnax. Cummings said he convinced Broadnax to take the blame because Broadnax didn’t have priors and he did. He also claimed his DNA was on the gun, and Broadnax’s wasn’t.

Broadnax’s attorneys tried to use this new information to halt the execution.

According to WFAA, their request for a stay of execution was denied on April 7th, 2026, with the court striking down the validity of Cummings’ admission and saying Broadnax never recanted.

They also claim that Broadnax’s defense didn’t prove he lied or was coerced into confessing. The judges stated, “Applicant did not have to confess. He chose to.”

According to Keranews, his legal team was planning to pursue other options, including petitioning the US Supreme Court, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the Dallas County district court, but ultimately, non of it worked.

Execution

The execution went down on April 30, 2026. According to CBSAustin, the 37-year-old maintained his innocence saying:

“I prayed to God for your forgiveness. Despite what you think about me, I hope to God that prayer was answered,” Broadnax said. “But no matter what you think about me, Texas got it wrong. I”m innocent, the facts of my case should speak for itself period.”

He was pronounced dead at 6:47 pm.

Aftermath

His British wife, Tiana, whom he met two years ago and married on April 14th, 2026, was seen on camera visibly distraught after the execution.

She has been crashing out on social media, saying the victim’s family laughed at Broadnax as he suffered with a nosebleed and bruising on his neck.

She says the fight is not over, and she is planning to expose Ken Paxton and Gregg Abbott.