James Broadnax was convicted of capital murder in 2008, and his execution date is now drawing closer.
Back in 2008, 19-year-old James Broadnax was found guilty of capital murder in connection with the deaths of Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler. During the trial, prosecutors presented more than 40 pages of his rap lyrics as evidence, which jurors reviewed twice. In the end, he was sentenced to death, according to The New York Times. Broadnax is now 37, and his execution is fast approaching.
However, several major hip-hop figures have joined forces in an effort to help save him.
In an amici curiae brief submitted yesterday (March 9) by Dallas appellate attorney Chad Baruch on behalf of Killer Mike, T.I., Young Thug, Fat Joe, N.O.R.E., and others, he argues that Broadnax’s constitutional rights were violated. “Rap lyrics are creative expression,” Baruch said. “When prosecutors treat them as literal evidence of future violence, they invite jurors to decide a death-penalty case based on fear and stereotypes instead of the law.”
Travis Scott’s legal team has also submitted their own amicus brief in the case. “The prosecutors argued Mr. Broadnax was likely to be dangerous in the future simply because he engaged in ‘gangster rap,’” the filing states. “Such an argument functionally operates as a categorical and straightforwardly unconstitutional content-based penalty on rap music as a form of expression.”
“At a certain level of abstraction, the reality is even more problematic,” it continues. “Taking rap music out of context subjects the entire genre to prosecution.”
Ellyde R. Thompson, an attorney representing Travis Scott, told Rolling Stone that Broadnax’s case “implicates fundamental constitutional rights.” She also emphasized that “a death sentence should never be based in any part on constitutionally protected artistic expression.”
As of now, the Supreme Court has not issued a ruling. James Broadnax’s execution is currently scheduled for April 30, 2026.
