An upcoming execution in Texas has gained the attention of prominent rappers like Travis Scott and T.I. for the questions it raises about the place rap lyrics have in the courtroom and how justice is meted out to Black defendants.
James Broadnax, 37, is set to be executed by lethal injection on Thursday, April 30, for the 2008 double murder of Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler, two producers of Christian music killed during a robbery outside their studio in the Dallas suburb of Garland.
Broadnax’s case is gaining national attention for what his attorneys say was an unfair trial that saw prosecutors eliminate almost every potential Black juror and use Broadnax’s own rap lyrics against him. The result, defense attorneys argue in a recent U.S. Supreme Court filing, transformed Broadnax’s “artistic expression into a death warrant.”
