James Broadnax Whose Death Penalty Case's Use of Rap Lyrics Was Criticized By Travis Scott Is Executed

A 37-year-old Texas man whose death penalty case caught the attention of Travis Scott, Killer Mike, and other artists was executed via lethal injection on Thursday (April 30). In a final statement, shared here by the Associated Press, the man, James Broadnax, reiterated his call for forgiveness in the involvement of the 2008 deaths of Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler, for which he was convicted alongside his cousin, Demarius Cummings. He also said that prosecutors had erred in the case, which caught the attention of Scott and other artists over its use of rap lyrics. “I prayed to God for your forgiveness,” Broadnax said. “Despite what you think about me, I hope to God that prayer was answered. 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. Cummings, notably, previously took responsibility for the fatal shootings, declaring himself “the killer,” not Broadnax. Scott urged the Supreme Court to see the use of Broadnax’s lyrics in his death row sentencing as unconstitutional. In an amicus brief filed by Scott’s legal team in March, including prominent attorney Alex Spiro, it was argued that the presenting of lyrics “to an almost all-white jury” during the capital sentencing phase marked an example of “particularly egregious” behavior on prosecutors’ part. “The prosecutors argued Mr. Broadnax was likely to be dangerous in the future simply because he engaged in ‘gangster rap,’” reads the brief, which cited this 2020 piece by Complex’s Shawn Setaro. “Such an argument functionally operates as a categorical and straightforwardly unconstitutional content-based penalty on rap music as a form of expression.” Using artistic expression in a criminal context has long been an issue, with rap artists typically, and unfairly, taking the brunt of such efforts. Back in 2022, amid coverage of Young Thug’s then-recent YSL indictment, the ongoing problem led to the launch of the Protect Black Art petition.

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