Register!!! https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/bcxwfRgcTfCqRiI5BvSpcQ

SPIRITUAL ADVISOR TO ANNOUNCE NATIONAL “COLORING BOOK CAMPAIGN” FOR JAMAAL HOWARD, MAN WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY SET FOR OCTOBER 7 TEXAS EXECUTION

Virtual press conference Tuesday, September 8 at 10:00 AM Central — one month before Texas intends to execute Jamaal Howard, and days before the September 17 legal deadline for a final competency hearing. REGISTER IN ADVANCE : https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/bcxwfRgcTfCqRiI5BvSpcQ

KOUNTZE, TEXAS — One month before the State of Texas intends to execute Jamaal Howard, his spiritual advisor, The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood, founder of the Execution Intervention Project, will hold a virtual press conference on Tuesday, September 8 at 10:00 AM central to announce a national campaign demanding that Judge Steven Thomas of the 356th District Court hold a final competency hearing before Mr. Howard is put to death on October 7.

Texas is preparing to kill a man who does not understand why he is being killed.

Jamaal Howard, 46, has been diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia by every doctor who has examined him for a quarter of a century — much of that documentation generated by the Texas prison system itself. Court-appointed experts placed his intellectual functioning in the 65-to-70 range, the level of an 11- or 12-year-old child. He was shot in the head at 17, three years before his crime. He has been maintained on the maximum allowable dose of antipsychotic medication for decades. He recently told a penpal that he is being executed because the victim reached out and accidentally caught one of his bullets out of the air. He passes his days on death row with children’s coloring books — Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario — because the lines on those pages are the one world that holds still for him.

The Constitution forbids executing a person who cannot rationally understand the reason for his execution. Yet in 26 years, no court — state or federal — has ever held a hearing on the condition of Jamaal Howard’s mind. Under Article 46.05 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, September 17 is the deadline for meaningful competency proceedings. After that, the door closes.

At Tuesday’s press conference, Dr. Hood will announce the national Coloring Book Campaign: a peaceful protest by mail, in which people across the United States are sending children’s coloring books to Judge Thomas at the Hardin County Courthouse — the very books Jamaal uses to survive his own mind — with one simple request: hold a hearing. The first 100 books are already in the mail.

“Twenty-five years of doctors have said the same thing about Jamaal Howard’s mind...it is broken. Texas heard them, drugged him to the maximum dose and tried to keep him well enough to kill him,” said Dr. Hood. “Now the state intends to strap what is left of him to a gurney. This is a man so sick he will die with little understanding of why. I am his spiritual advisor. I will stand with him until the end. But let history record this: If Texas kills Jamaal Howard, it will not be because no one knew that his mind was broken. It will be because everyone with the power to look refused to. There is a word for the strong killing the weak because it is easier than offering help. It is not justice. It is slaughter.”

The press conference will address Mr. Howard’s medical and legal history, the September 17 deadline, the national campaign, and next steps as the execution date approaches. Dr. Hood, who has served as spiritual advisor to numerous men executed across the country and has witnessed 13 executions, will be available for questions.

PRESS CONFERENCE DETAILS

What: Virtual press conference on the scheduled execution of Jamaal Howard and the national Coloring Book Campaign Who: The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood, spiritual advisor to Jamaal Howard; founder, Execution Intervention Project When: Tuesday, September 8, 2026, 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada) Where: Via Zoom. REGISTER IN ADVANCE : https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/bcxwfRgcTfCqRiI5BvSpcQ After registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the meeting.

CAMPAIGN ADDRESS

Members of the public wishing to participate in the Coloring Book Campaign may mail coloring books to:

Judge Steven Thomas 356th District Court Hardin County Courthouse 300 West Monroe Street Kountze, TX 77625

ABOUT THE EXECUTION INTERVENTION PROJECT

The Execution Intervention Project is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to intervening in executions across the United States through spiritual accompaniment, public advocacy and direct action on behalf of the condemned.