Rappers Urge Supreme Court to Review Texas Death Sentence Based on Rap Lyrics
The filings contend that using Broadnax’s handwritten verses to prove “future dangerousness” violates First Amendment protections.
Overview
- James Garfield Broadnax, convicted in 2009 for a 2008 double murder in Garland, Texas, is scheduled to be executed on April 30, 2026, with no Supreme Court action yet taken.
- During the punishment phase, prosecutors submitted more than 40 pages of Broadnax’s handwritten rap lyrics, which jurors asked to review twice before choosing death over life without parole.
- Artists including Travis Scott, Young Thug, Killer Mike, T.I., and others filed amicus briefs this month urging the Court to curb the use of rap lyrics in criminal cases.
- The briefs argue that treating rap as evidence imposes an unconstitutional, content‑based penalty on artistic expression and reinforces anti-rap and anti-Black bias.
- Dallas County prosecutors oppose relief, as Broadnax’s appeals also challenge jury selection practices that left him tried by a largely white jury.