Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Texas Attorney General Media Advisory

AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about Ronald Ray Howard, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. Thursday, October 6, 2005.

The 32-year-old Howard was sentenced to death for the capital murder of Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Bill Davidson during a routine traffic stop. A summary of the evidence presented at trial follows.

FACTS OF THE CRIME

On April 11, 1992, Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Bill Davidson stopped a vehicle on U.S. 59 in Jackson County for having a broken headlight. The driver of the vehicle, Ronald Ray Howard, shot Davidson in the neck. The vehicle Howard was driving was stolen. Howard fled the scene of the shooting, but he was arrested within a couple of hours with the murder weapon, a nine millimeter handgun loaded with hollow point bullets, in his possession. No fewer than eight people witnessed the shooting and provided a description of the gunman. Howard confessed to killing the trooper and repeated his confession to a grand jury. Tests indicated Howard had both cocaine and marijuana in his system at the time of the murder.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

April 30, 1992— A Jackson County grand jury indicted Howard for capital murder.

July 14, 1993 — A jury found Howard guilty of capital murder and following a separate punishment hearing, the court assessed a sentence of death.

December 18, 1996 — Howard’s conviction was affirmed on direct appeal by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. However, the court reversed the sentence and ordered a new punishment trial.

January 26, 1999 — Howard was again sentenced to death.

December 19, 2001 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the sentence.

May 13, 2002 — The U.S. Supreme Court denied Howard’s petition for certiorari review.

September 5, 2000 — Howard filed an application for writ of habeas corpus in the state trial court.

February 6, 2002 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied habeas relief.

May 5, 2003 — Howard filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in a U.S. federal district court.

March 19, 2004 — The federal district court denied habeas relief.

March 11, 2005 — The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Howard permission to appeal and affirmed the federal district court’s denial of habeas relief.

March 30, 2005 — The trial court entered an order setting the execution date for October 6, 2005.

PRIOR CRIMINAL HISTORY

On Jan. 10, 1991, Howard received a 6-year probated sentence for burglary of a motor vehicle and a 45-day jail sentence for theft. Both were Harris County cases. Howard was on probation when he shot Trooper Davidson.

Austin American Statesman

"Killer who said rap music influenced him is executed; Man was convicted in Austin of killing police officer near Edna," by Michael Graczyk. (AP October 7, 2005)

HUNTSVILLE -- Ronald Ray Howard was executed Thursday for fatally shooting a state trooper, a slaying his trial attorneys argued was prompted by Howard's listening to anti-police rap music.

Asked if he had a final statement, Howard looked at the trooper's widow, daughter and brother and said he hoped that "this helps a little. I don't know how, but I hope it helps." Then he turned to friends and a brother who were among his witnesses, expressing love and thanking them for finding two of his children, who visited him on death row within the past week. "Love you all. Thank you so much," he said. As the drugs were administered, he lifted his head from the gurney and mouthed that he loved them, urged them to be strong and said "I'm going home." The slain trooper's widow and daughter, who were standing next to the window, hugged and kissed as Howard slipped into unconsciousness. Twelve minutes later, he was pronounced dead.

Howard, 32, convicted in Austin, was executed for gunning down Texas Department of Public Safety trooper Bill Davidson, 43, during a traffic stop 13 years ago outside Edna, about 100 miles southwest of Houston. The execution was the 14th this year in Texas, the nation's most active capital punishment state. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles this week unanimously refused Howard's request that his sentence be commuted to life.

In an interview Wednesday on death row, Howard recalled the trooper pulling him over on U.S. 59 for a broken headlight. "How you doing?" Davidson asked Howard, who was armed with a 9 mm pistol. "But I was already in motion," Howard said. "I'd already shot as I hear him saying that."

Davidson, father of two and on the force for 19 years, died three days later of a gunshot wound to the neck. Howard was captured within hours of the slaying after a police chase that ended in nearby Victoria when he crashed the stolen sport-utility vehicle he was driving into a house and tried to run. Howard said the trooper earlier had pulled alongside of him, sped off, then was waiting over a hill on the side of the road as Howard drove past. Davidson then flicked on his lights and pulled him over, Howard said. "I felt like I was being taunted," Howard said, adding that his previous encounters with police, particularly in his hometown of Houston, had soured him on police officers.

Defense attorneys argued at his trial that Howard's constant exposure to gangsta rap music and its anti-police messages influenced him to pull the trigger. "He grew up in the ghetto and disliked police, and these were his heroes, these rappers . . . telling him if you're pulled over, just blast away," his trial attorney, Allen Tanner, recalled last week. "It affected him. That was a totally valid serious defense."

"I'm not a psychologist," Howard said Wednesday. "So I don't know. I never said: Yes, it did, or no, it didn't. I don't know. But my lawyers thought it could have caused it." At the time of the April 1992 shooting, the 18-year-old father of four was on probation for burglary. He acknowledged Wednesday stealing "a lot of cars" but said it was normal activity for kids in his part of Houston.

Jurors in Austin, where Howard's trial was moved because of publicity in Jackson County, needed just 40 minutes to convict the admitted drug dealer and seventh-grade dropout. They deliberated six days before deciding he should die. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Howard's death sentence in 1996 because a potential juror improperly was eliminated from the jury pool. At a second trial, in Corpus Christi in 1999, Howard again was sentenced to die.

Howard was one of three Texas inmates with execution dates this month. At least six are scheduled for November, and another in December. In last-day appeals, David Dow, with the Texas Innocence Project, argued in the federal courts Howard was abandoned by a previous court-appointed attorney who failed to file proper appeals.

Dow was appointed to the case within the past few days and argued without a reprieve, there wasn't enough time for his team to write a petition seeking review of the case. Howard was one of three Texas inmates with execution dates this month. At least six are scheduled for November and another in December.

ProDeathPenalty.com

Bill Davidson, a state trooper, stopped Ronald Ray Howard for a traffic violation. Davidson was shot through the neck after stopping Howard in a stolen vehicle. Howard fled in the stolen GMC Jimmy to Victoria, Texas where he was captured after a police chase during which he lost control of his vehicle and struck a horse. He was arrested in possession of a loaded 9 mm pistol, the same weapon used to shoot Davidson. Bill Davidson died three days after being shot. Howard claimed that listening to a rap song caused him to shoot Officer Davidson.

On April 11, 1992, Howard was driving an automobile that he had stolen three days earlier when Department of Public Safety Trooper Bill Davidson noticed that the right headlight of the vehicle was broken. Davidson pulled Howard over to the side of the road, called in the license plate, and got out of his police car. As Davidson approached the driver-side window, Howard shot him in the neck, inflicting a fatal wound. Howard then drove off. Law enforcement officers arrested Howard on the night of the shooting.

Later that month, a grand jury indicted him for capital murder. Given the overwhelming evidence of guilt - including multiple confessions by Howard (to the police, the grand jury, and fellow inmates), numerous eye witnesses, and evidence that at the time of his arrest Howard possessed ammunition matching the firearm used to kill Trooper Davidson--Howard’s counsel did not contest the State’s evidence at the guilt phase of his trial. The jury convicted Howard of capital murder. Following a separate punishment phase, the jury answered the special issues in a manner requiring the imposition of the death penalty. Consequently, the trial court sentenced Howard to death. During his trial the suspect claimed he shot Trooper Davidson because the rap music he was listening to forced him to do so.

Trooper Davidson had served the Highway Patrol for over 20 years. He began his career with the agency on June 26, 1973, and was stationed at Edna. He was survived by his wife and two children.

Texas Execution Information Center by David Carson.

Ronald Ray Howard, 32, was executed by lethal injection on 6 October 2005 in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of a state trooper.

On 11 April 1992, Trooper Bill Davidson, 43, of the Texas Department of Public Safety observed a vehicle with a broken headlight on U.S. Highway 59 in Jackson County. He pulled the vehicle over for a traffic stop. He called in the license plate and learned that the vehicle, a 1986 GMC Jimmy, was stolen. As Davidson approached the driver's window, the driver, Ronald Howard, then 18, shot him in the neck. Howard then drove off.

At least eight people witnessed the shooting and provided a description of the gunman. Trooper Davidson also described the shooter. A pursuit by police ended when Howard lost control of the vehicle and struck a house, then attempted to flee on foot. He was arrested in possession of a loaded 9mm pistol. He confessed to shooting Davidson, who died of his wound three days later.

Howard had previous convictions for burglary and theft. He was on probation at the time of the murder.

Howard and his trial attorney said that his behavior was prompted in part by violent, anti-police rap music. Howard told a grand jury that he was listening to "Soulja's Story" by Tupac Shakur before the shooting. In the song, a black teenager is pulled over by police and opens fire: They finally pull me over and I laugh, "Remember Rodney King?", And I blast on his punk ass, Now I got a murder case.

A jury convicted Howard of capital murder in July 1993 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction in December 1996, but, finding that a prospective juror was erroneously dismissed over her ability to impose a death sentence, it reversed the death sentence and ordered a new punishment hearing. In January 1999, Howard was again sentenced to death by a jury. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the death sentence in December 2001. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

In an interview from death row, Howard told a reporter that as he was driving on U.S. 59, Davidson pulled along side of him, then sped off. When Howard drove over a hill, Davidson was waiting for him on the other side. Howard said that as he drove past, Davidson flipped on his lights and pulled him over. "I felt like I was being taunted," Howard said.

"All my experiences with police have never been good, whether I've been doing something bad or not," Howard continued. "That's what I think played a major part. I assumed that this wasn't going to be a good experience either." Howard said that Davidson asked him, "How you doing?" as he approached him. "But I was already in motion. I'd already shot as I hear him saying that."

In the interview, Howard did not say for certain that rap music was responsible for his crime. "I'm not a psychologist," Howard said. "So I don't know. I never said, 'yes it did' or 'no it didn't.' I don't know. But my lawyers thought it could have caused it. And they were trying to justify, put reason for what I did."

Howard's trial attorney, Allen Tanner, told a reporter the week before Howard's execution, "He grew up in the ghetto and disliked police, and these were his heroes ... these rappers ... telling him if you're pulled over, just blast away. It affected him," Tanner said. That was a totally valid, serious defense."

At the time of the shooting, Howard was an 18-year-old father of four and was on probation for burglary. He told the reporter that he had stolen "a lot of cars," but that was a normal activity for teenagers in his Houston neighborhood. "When you think about people on death row, you think of monsters - non-sociable people who can't help but hurt other people," Howard said. "That's not who I am."

"I hope this helps a little," Howard told the victim's widow and two children at his execution. "I don't know how, but I hope it helps." He then expressed love to his friends and brother. As the lethal injection was administered, Howard looked at his friends again and mouthed, "I'm going home. I'm good. Be strong. I'll be alright." He was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Ronald Ray Howard - TEXAS - October 6, 2005

Ronald Ray Howard, a black man, faces execution on Oct. 6, 2005 for the murder of Department of Public Safety Trooper Bill Davidson, a 43-year-old white man, during a traffic stop on April 11, 1992. Ronald Howard was 18 years old at the time of the crime and driving a stolen car when Davidson stopped him. In an unpremeditated panic Howard shot Davidson. Ronald Ray Howard has continual expressed his deep regret.

On appeal, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Howard’s rehearing request. In a dissenting opinion Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Justice Overstreet held that two of the state-stricken jurors were not challengeable for cause. Perhaps if these two legitimate jurors had been allowed to remain on the jury Howard’s trial would have ended differently.

Thirteen years on death row has changed Ronald Howard. He not only has continued to regret his own crime, but has also joined in the struggle to help other at-risk youth to not follow down his path. Howard’s own ghetto upbringing allows him to connect with other at-risk youth. In his 13 years on death row Howard has used this fact to help other young people to not travel the path that he did. Additionally Howard has spent his time on death row becoming a more educated Christian man. Howard has earned the respect of wardens and prison guards, some of whom have come to him for advice or aide. Howard also currently lacks legal representation.

The death of Officer Davidson is tragic. However the death of Ronald Ray Howard will not bring Davidson back. Allowing Howard to live also will allow him to continue his work in preventing similar fates for other at risk youth. Please contact Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole to ask that Ronald Ray Howard’s execution be stopped.

The Huntsville Item

"Man executed for slaying state trooper," by Brian Lacy. (October 7, 2005)

Thirteen years after standing beside Bill Davidson's hospital bed as he died, the family of the state trooper watched Thursday night as his killer was executed inside the Huntsville ”Walls“ Unit. Ronald Ray Howard was sentenced to death for killing Davidson, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper, with a gunshot to the neck during a traffic stop outside Edna, about 100 miles southwest of Houston, on April 11, 1992.

In his final statement, Howard looked at Davidson's family and said, ”I hope this helps a little. I don't know how, but I hope it helps.“ He then thanked his supporters, including one brother, for their love and support. Before losing consciousness, he continued to look at his friend, mouthing the words ”I'm going home. I'm good. Be strong. I'll be alright.“ Howard was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m., 12 minutes after the lethal injection was given.

Linda Davidson, Bill's widow, asked people to remember what a wonderful man her husband was - not what kind of person Howard could have become. ”It helps knowing the son of a bitch got what he deserved,“ she said of Howard. ”Today justice has been served. It's real frustrating - the wheels of justice turn very slowly.“

In an interview Wednesday at death row, Howard recalled the trooper pulling him over on U.S. Highway 59, apparently for a broken headlight. ”How you doing?“ Davidson asked the then 18-year-old Howard, who was armed with a 9 mm pistol. ”But I was already in motion,“ Howard said. ”I'd already shot as I hear him saying that.“

Davidson, father of two and on the force for 19 years, died three days later of a gunshot wound to the neck. Howard was captured within hours of the slaying after a police chase that ended in nearby Victoria when he wrecked the stolen SUV he was driving, crashing it into a house, and tried to run away on foot.

Howard said the trooper earlier had pulled along side of him, sped off, then was waiting over a hill on the side of the road as Howard drove past, flicked on his lights and pulled him over. ”I felt like I was being taunted,“ Howard said, adding that his previous encounters with police, particularly in his hometown of Houston, soured him on police officers.

Defense lawyers argued at his trial that Howard's constant exposure to gangsta rap music and its anti-police messages influenced him to pull the trigger. ”He grew up in the ghetto and disliked police and these were his heroes, these rappers ... telling him if you're pulled over, just blast away,“ his trial attorney, Allen Tanner, recalled last week. ”It affected him. That was a totally valid serious defense.“ Howard told a grand jury he was listening to ”Soulja's Story“ by Tupac Shakur before he shot Davidson. The song makes references to a young black male being pulled over by police, remembering Rodney King, then opening fire on an officer.

At the time of the April 1992 shooting, the 18-year-old father of four was on probation for burglary. He acknowledged Wednesday stealing ”a lot of cars“ but said it was the normal activity for kids in his part of Houston. ”When you think about people on death row, you think of monsters, non-sociable people who can't help but hurt other people. That's not who I am,“ he said.

Howard's execution was the 14th this year in Texas and the first of three scheduled for October.

About.Com

Ronald Ray Howard, Sr.

Tried and convicted in Travis County on a change of venue from Jackson County, Ronald Ray Howard was on death row for the 1992 shooting death of a Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper. At his trial Howard blamed rap, and specifically music by Tupac Shakur, for goading him into violence.

On Texas Death Row: Ronald Ray Howard, Sr., Texas Department of Criminal Justice Number 999069, was received at TDCJ on August 25, 1993. His sentence was reversed in 1996 but he was re-sentenced to death in 1999. He was executed on October 6, 2005.

"As I've made plenty of changes over the years with my life and way of thinking, the only purpose to be served by my execution now would be that of revenge." ~ Ronald Ray Howard, Sr.

About Ronald Ray Howard, Sr.: Ron Howard was from Houston, Texas. Born July 22, 1973, by the time he was 17 he had already had run-ins with the law including "Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle." He was 18 when he was arrested for the shooting of DPS Trooper Bill Davidson in Jackson County, Texas after a high speed chase. Howard was driving a stolen vehicle. Howard has three daughters and one son.

About Bill Davidson: Trooper Bill Davidson began his career with the Texas Department of Public Safety on June 26, 1973. He was stationed at Edna, Texas. Davidson died on April 14, 1992, from injuries suffered when he was shot on April 11 after stopping a stolen vehicle driven by Ronald Ray Howard. He was 43 at the time of his death and is survived by his wife, Linda.

Rap Music and the Death of Trooper Bill Davidson: In an articled entitled, "The Music of Murder" Dennis R Martin writes,

"On April 11, 1992, Trooper Bill Davidson, formerly with the Texas Department of Public Safety, was killed in cold blood as he approached the driver of a vehicle he had stopped for a defective headlight. The trooper's widow, Linda Davidson, described to me an account of the events surrounding the killing and the impact of this tragedy on the Davidson Family. The teen-age killer, Ronald Howard, explained to law enforcement authorities that he felt hypnotized by the lyrics of six songs by the rap group 2 Pac, from their album 2 Pacalypse Now which urge the killing of police officers. Howard claims that the lyrical instructions devoured him like an animal, taking control over his subconscious mind and compelling him to kill Trooper Davidson as he approached Howard's vehicle. The rap's influence, however, apparently continues to affect Howard's judgment. Two psychiatrists found that the music still affects his psychosocial behavior. In a meeting with Linda Davidson, Howard expressed his desire to completely carry out the rap's instruction by putting away a pig's wife and dusting his family. Howard's reaction has left Linda dumfounded, confused, bewildered, and most of all, angry."

In an English 201 paper "Music and Violence: Does Music Really Trigger Violence?" Ryan Leyden writes:

"In 1993 Ronald Ray Howard, an eighth grade drop-out, was convicted of shooting Texas State Trooper Bill Davidson. This teenager had been listening to the song "Sister Souljah," by Tupac Shakur. The songs' lyrics are: “Cops on my tail they finally pull me over and I laugh. Remember Rodney King and I blast his punk ass.”

The jury remained unconvinced that Howard's listening to the song caused him to commit an act of violence. Howard placed responsibility in Shakur for "pulling the trigger". He was convicted of the murder."

From Jacci Howard Bear,Your Guide to Austin, TX.

Ronald Howard Inmate Website

Welcome to the Website of Ronald Ray Howard, Sr.
*22 July 1973 - †06 October 2005

After having resided in a small cage on Texas' death row for more than 13 years, Ron was murdered by the State of Texas on the 6th of October, 2005.

We, his family and friends, are shocked at the brutality of this system that made our loved one a person who did not deserve to live because of a single action that was not premeditated but committed in an act of panic. A system that did not see the changes in him, that did not even consider giving him a second chance, a fair trial, or effective counsel.

We grieve the loss of Ron, a wonderful father to three, a loving brother, caring son and grandson, and the best friend and companion we have ever had. Yet inspite of the grief and horror, we know that Ron is in a better place now. After so many years of fighting, pain and mistreatment, our beloved Ron is free at last.

The system tried hard, but it did not break Ron. He was strong, postitive, courageous, and dignified to his last seconds. The State of Texas took his body but it could not take his soul. Ron's spirit lives on in all of us who love him. And it lives on in his writings on this website. Ron reached out to speak the truth about his life, the ghetto myth and Hip Hop, and life on death row. He has reached at-risk youth and helped them find better perspectives for their own lives than life on the streets. He has made a difference to young and old all over the world. We will continue to keep this spirit alive.

The goal of this site is many, but one thing it is not is a site meant to champion myself. Not in the least. This site is not an attempt to make me look like an angel, for I admit that I am not. But I am also not the monster who many would attempt to say I am.

The main goal of this site is to serve as a warning to those would-be murderers, drug dealers, or criminals. To show that one does not have to be the worst of the worst to find themselves on death row or in prison for life. This site is an attempt to do something that the death penalty does not do: serve as a deterrent. And if it does in fact serve as a deterrent, if one person does not die because of my writing, then the death of Mr. Davidson would not have been in vain.

That is the main goal of this website. I have never asked anyone for sympathy, for I realize no matter what, I was wrong for my actions many years ago. It took time to understand that. But I understand. As I've made plenty of changes over the years with my life and way of thinking, the only purpose to be served by my execution now would be that of revenge.

With the use of this website I have sought to use my life as an example of the realities of life on the streets and where it could lead. Hoping that some at risk youth might see my message and choose to do better with their lives. This website has been my voice, and over the few years I've been doing this, on many occasions I've been rewarded with messages from young people letting me know that my story, my life, and my words has had positive effects on their way of thinking...

There are those who wish me ill no matter what. There are those who actually have a reason to. And I understand that as well. So if you wish to express your hopes of my demise Im okay with that. Death isnt something I fear, its something we all will face someday. For death is the wage of sin.

But for those of you who simply wish to send hate messages and attempt to make like you actually know me, and claim that I write lies on this site, I ask you to prove it. If you can, then it will be accepted and acknowledged. Otherwise, do not make claims when you have never even walked a day in my life.

Otherwise your messages will not be allowed on this site. Thank you for your time and patience as we continuously struggle to make something positive come from this insane tragedy.

I write in sincerity.
Ron R. Howard, Sr.

Houston Chronicle

"Killer who blamed rap music executed." (Associated Press Oct. 6, 2005, 8:25PM)

HUNTSVILLE — Convicted killer Ronald Ray Howard was executed today for fatally shooting a Texas state trooper, a slaying his trial attorneys argued was prompted by Howard listening to anti-police rap music. Asked if he had a final statement, Howard looked at the trooper's widow, daughter and brother and said he hoped "this helps a little. I don't know how, but I hope it helps."

Then he turned to friends and a brother who were among his witnesses, expressing love and thanking them for locating two of his young children, who visited him on death row within the past week. "Love you all. Thank you so much," he said., As the drugs were administered, he lifted his head from the gurney and mouthed that he loved them, urged them to be strong and said "I'm going home." Twelve minutes later, he was pronounced dead. The widow and daughter, who were standing next to the window, hugged and kissed as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Howard, 32, was executed for gunning down Texas Department of Public Safety Officer Bill Davidson, 43, during a traffic stop 13 years ago outside Edna, about 100 miles southwest of Houston. The execution was the 14th this year in Texas, the nation's most active capital punishment state. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles earlier this week unanimously refused Howard's request that his death sentence be commuted to life.

"It helps knowing the son of a bitch got what he deserved," Linda Davidson, the trooper's widow, describing Howard as the "judge, jury and executioner" of her husband. "Today justice has been served. It's real frustrating the wheels of justice turn very slowly."

In an interview Wednesday at death row, Howard recalled the trooper pulling him over on U.S. Highway 59, apparently for a broken headlight. "How you doing?" Davidson asked the then 18-year-old Howard, who was armed with a 9 mm pistol. "But I was already in motion," Howard said. "I'd already shot as I hear him saying that." Davidson, father of two and on the force for 19 years, died three days later of a gunshot wound to the neck. Howard was captured within hours of the slaying after a police chase that ended in nearby Victoria when he wrecked the stolen SUV he was driving, crashing it into a house, and tried to run away on foot.

Howard said the trooper earlier had pulled along side of him, sped off, then was waiting over a hill on the side of the road as Howard drove past, flicked on his lights and pulled him over. "I felt like I was being taunted," Howard said, adding that his previous encounters with police, particularly in his hometown of Houston, soured him on police officers. "All my experiences with police have never been good, whether I've been doing something bad or not. That's what I think played a major part. I assumed that this wasn't going to be a good experience either."

Defense lawyers argued at his trial that Howard's constant exposure to gangsta rap music and its anti-police messages influenced him to pull the trigger. "He grew up in the ghetto and disliked police and these were his heroes, these rappers ... telling him if you're pulled over, just blast away," his trial attorney, Allen Tanner, recalled last week. "It affected him. That was a totally valid serious defense." Howard told a grand jury he was listening to Soulja's Story by Tupac Shakur before he shot Davidson. The song makes references to a young black male being pulled over by police, remembering Rodney King, then opening fire on an officer. "I'm not a psychologist," Howard said Wednesday. "So I don't know. I never said: Yes it did or no it didn't. I don't know. But my lawyers thought it could have caused it. And they were trying to justify, put reason, for what I did."

At the time of the April 1992 shooting, the 18-year-old father of four was on probation for burglary. He acknowledged Wednesday stealing "a lot of cars" but said it was the normal activity for kids in his part of Houston. "When you think about people on death row, you think of monsters, non-sociable people who can't help but hurt other people. That's not who I am," he said.

Jurors in Austin, where Howard's trial was moved because of publicity in Jackson County, needed just 40 minutes to convict the self-admitted drug dealer and seventh-grade dropout. The same panel, however, deliberated six days before deciding he should die. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Howard's death sentence in 1996 because a potential juror improperly was eliminated from the jury pool. At a second trial in Corpus Christi in 1999, Howard again was sentenced to die.

In last-day appeals, David Dow, with the Texas Innocence Project, argued in the federal courts Howard was abandoned by a previous court-appointed attorney who failed to file proper appeals. Dow was appointed to the case within the past few days and argued without a reprieve, there wasn't enough time for his team to write a petition seeking review of the case.

Howard was one of three Texas inmates with execution dates this month. At least six are scheduled for November and another in December.

Reuters News

"Texas executes rap fan who killed police officer" (Thu Oct 6, 2005 8:48 PM)

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (Reuters) - Texas executed a man on Thursday who killed a police officer and blamed it on rap music that he said goaded him into violence. Ronald Ray Howard, 32, was the 14th person put to death this year in Texas, the nation's leading death penalty state.

He was condemned for the shooting death of Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Bill Davidson on April 11, 1992. Howard was driving a stolen vehicle and shot Davidson in the neck when the officer pulled him over and approached his car.

At his trial, Howard's lawyers argued the rap music he listened to for hours, particularly that of late rapper Tupac Shakur, carried a message of violence toward police that influenced Howard's behavior.

In a final statement while strapped to a gurney in the Texas death chamber, Howard said he hoped his execution "helps a little" for Davidson's family, but added, "I do not know how." "I love you all very much. Thank you very much," he said. Howard did not request a last meal.

He was the 350th person executed in Texas since the state resumed the death penalty in 1982, six years after a U.S. Supreme Court decision lifted a national ban on capital punishment. Nine more executions are scheduled in Texas this year.

Canadian Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (Inmate Website)

To All Concerned, Hello !

So how has life been treating you as of late ? I hope that life is worth enjoying on your end. I guess you could say that I am doing all right at the moment, although, we both know that I could and should be doing much better. Anyway, I am writing this letter in hopes of drawing your attention to establishing a friendship with me. Being that this is an introduction letter, I would like to take this time to introduce myself to you. My name is Ronald R. Howard Sr., and I am 27 years of age. And right now I am trapped on the most infamous, or famous, depending on your choice, death row here in the United States, Texas Death Row. I have been here for the last seven years. But I have been jailed for the last eight and a half years. I'm from the city of Houston, and have lived there for all of the 18 years of freedom that I enjoyed.

I stand at about 6'2, and weigh 210 pounds. I have black hair and brown eyes. I'm also the father of three, and with the picture I am sending of myself, you will see my youngest little girl with me. Her name is JaBoria. I have a great deal that interest. I enjoy reading, listening to music, playing sports such as football and basketball. I also like to watch boxing. I enjoy spending time with friends. I like animals of the wild, large cats, snakes, and wild birds or exotic birds. Though I have never been camping or had a chance to take a hike through a forest, I think that I would enjoy that as well. These are just a few things that I find of interest. Being that I have briefly described myself to you I would like to close this letter by letting you know the type of person I'm looking forward to hearing from. I'm a very open and honest person , therefore, I a m looking for the same in return. Someone who is willing to simply be the person that they are, willing to share their thoughts and ideas with me. And at the same time listen to what is on my mind. Someone who understands that life here can be very stressful and boring and that a regular correspondence with someone is really appreciated on this end. Are you that somebody ? Tell me you're that somebody. Having said all of that, I will now bring this letter to a close. I hope, that this letter definitely strikes your interest in corresponding because I am looking because I am looking for a friend I can express myself to. You will find out more about me in future letters if you take the time to respond.

Sincerely, Ron Howard

Ron's Original Pen Pal Request:
Dear Reader, First off, I am hoping that this letter may find you at your very best. That your health is good, and that you have a smile shining bright.... And as for myself I well I am doing fine. And speaking of myself, Please allow me to introduce myself... My name is Ronald Ray Howard Sr., and I am a 26 year old African American, who has somehow found himself trapped within prison wall's....In fact I am on death row, and have been for a little over six years now.

I am writing this letter in hope's of finding a friend or two. A pen friend. Some one who I can trade thought's with. Some one just to be a friend. And as I understand it, you and/or your organization help's people like me with finding some one to write. So I would like to ask that you assist me in my search for a pen pal. And to assist you in the search, I think that I would do good in telling you more of what type of person that I am hoping to find. And then a little more about myself, as well.... I am searching for some one who is at least 24 year's of age and up. Male or Female? It really doesn't matter. I am looking for someone who can be honest and open minded. Real and true to themselves, and then to me as well. I am hoping for a person who is down to earth. Someone who will not attempt to judge another, but who will try to understand first and foremost. And as for me, I feel that I am a very real, honest and down to earth person. I try to enjoy the simple thing's that life has to offer. I am not a religious person, yet I do believe in God. I feel that since there is so much evil in this world, that there just has to be some goodness too. I like animals,most all kinds, but large cat's and Black Panther's in particular. I enjoy listening to music, reading book's and some poetry too. I also enjoy doing work with my hand's. Wood craft's and the like. And I am a very big sport's fan. Baseball, and Football, I like to play and watch too. But I love to watch and play basketball. It is my favorite ...... Well, that's really all that I can think of to tell you about myself, and what I am in search of. I really do hope that it is a help. And I am hoping to receive some type of response some time in the near future.... I would like to thank you fur you time and for your help
Sincerely, Ron Howard

Howard v. State, 941 S.W.2d 102 (Tex.Cr.App. 1996) (Direct Appeal).

Defendant was convicted in the 24th District Court, Jackson County, Whayland G. Kilgore, J., of capital murder. Defendant appealed. The Court of Criminal Appeals, Mansfield, J., on original disposition and Clinton, J., on rehearing, held that: (1) vacillating veniremember was properly dismissed; (2) defendant's voir dire examination was not impermissibly restricted by rephrasing requirement; (3) veniremembers who expressed unequivocal opposition to imposing death penalty were properly dismissed without affording defendant opportunity to examine them; (4) presence of 20 uniformed state troopers and police officers at penalty phase did not violate right to fair trial; (5) three jury deadlock notes during penalty phase did not warrant mistrial; (6) supplemental charge encouraging dialectic on punishment determination was not coercive; and, on rehearing, (7) trial court abused its discretion in granting State's causal challenge against veniremember who stated that she would require proof of prior murder to find future dangerousness for sentencing purposes.

Vacated and cause remanded. Overstreet, J., dissented on original disposition. Maloney, J., dissented on original disposition and filed opinion in which Clinton and Baird, JJ., joined. Baird, J., filed concurring statement joining only in judgment of court on rehearing. McCormick, P.J., and Maloney, J., dissented in part on rehearing with separate opinions. White, Mansfield, and Keller, JJ., dissented on rehearing.

MANSFIELD, Justice. A Travis County jury [FN1] convicted appellant, Ronald Ray Howard, of capital murder. At the punishment phase of the trial, the jury found appellant to be a "future danger" under and, further, declined to find mitigating circumstances sufficient to militate against application of the death penalty under Article 37.071 § 2(e). The trial court sentenced appellant to death. We will affirm the judgment of the trial court.

FN1. Appellant's trial was held in Travis County on a change of venue from Jackson County.

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The facts pertaining to the guilt/innocence phase of the prosecution are virtually uncontested. The victim, Department of Public Safety Trooper Bill Davidson, pulled appellant over in the course of a routine traffic stop on April 11, 1992, in Jackson County. Appellant was driving a stolen car and apparently decided to shoot Trooper Davidson rather than submit to the stop. When the trooper approached appellant's automobile, appellant shot him in the neck, killing him. Appellant confessed to the killing on three distinct occasions. [FN4]

FN4. First, appellant gave a voluntary, tape-recorded confession shortly after his arrest. Later, appellant gave a second written confession to police. Both were admitted into evidence at trial. In both instances, appellant conceded shooting the peace officer with conscious knowledge of the victim's status as such. Finally appellant confessed to a grand jury. The recording of the grand jury proceeding was also played to the jury.

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OPINION ON APPELLANT'S MOTION FOR REHEARING

CLINTON, Judge.
We granted rehearing in this cause in order to re-examine appellant's points of error one and twenty-four, whereby he contended the trial court erred in granting State's challenges for cause against veniremen Durling and Ochoa, respectively. Appellant contends that our disposition of these points of error on original submission conflicts with our holding in Garrett v. State, 851 S.W.2d 853 (Tex.Cr.App.1993). On closer scrutiny we reaffirm our conclusion that the trial court did not err in granting the State's challenge for cause against venireman Ochoa. However, we conclude that the State failed to sustain its burden to establish venireman Durling was challengeable for cause, and that the trial court erred to grant the State's challenge against her. Accordingly, we will vacate the judgment of the trial court and remand the cause for a new punishment proceeding. Article 44.29(c), V.A.C.C.P.; Ransom v. State, 920 S.W.2d 288 (Tex.Cr.App.1996) (Opinion on State's motion for rehearing).

Howard v. Dretke, 125 Fed.Appx. 560 (5th Cir. 2005). (Habeas)

Background: Defendant convicted of capital murder petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas denied relief. Defendant applied for a certificate of appealability (COA).

Holding: The Court of Appeals, King, Chief Circuit Judge, held that state appellate court was not unreasonable in concluding that defendant's attorney did not provide ineffective assistance of counsel. Application denied.

Petitioner-Appellant Ronald Ray Howard seeks a certificate of appealability (COA) to appeal the district court's dismissal of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas corpus petition. Because Howard cannot make a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right, we DENY his application for a COA.

I. BACKGROUND

On April 11, 1992, Howard was driving an automobile that he had stolen three days earlier when Department of Public Safety Trooper Bill Davidson noticed that the right headlight of the vehicle was broken. Davidson pulled Howard over to the side of the road, called in the license plate, and got out of his police car. As Davidson approached the driver-side window, Howard shot him in the neck, inflicting a fatal wound. Howard then drove off.

Law enforcement officers arrested Howard on the night of the shooting. Later that month, a grand jury indicted him for capital murder. Given the overwhelming evidence of guilt--e.g., multiple confessions by Howard (to the police, the grand jury, and fellow inmates), numerous eye witnesses, and evidence that at the time of his arrest Howard possessed ammunition matching the firearm used to kill Trooper Davidson--Howard's counsel did not contest the State's evidence at the guilt phase of his trial. The jury convicted Howard of capital murder.

Following a separate punishment phase, the jury answered the special issues in a manner requiring the imposition of the *562 death penalty. Consequently, the trial court sentenced Howard to death. On direct review, however, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the sentence, finding that the trial court erroneously dismissed a prospective juror over her ability to answer Texas's special issues. Howard v. State, 941 S.W.2d 102 (Tex.Crim.App.1996). After a second punishment phase, a new jury answered Texas's special issues in a manner again requiring the imposition of a death sentence. Again, the trial court sentenced Howard to death. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the judgment on direct appeal, and the United States Supreme Court denied Howard's petition for certiorari. Howard v. Texas, 535 U.S. 1065, 122 S.Ct. 1935, 152 L.Ed.2d 840 (2002).

While his second direct appeal was pending, Howard filed a state application for habeas relief. The state habeas court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law recommending the denial of Howard's state habeas application. The Court of Criminal Appeals subsequently denied Howard's application.

On May 5, 2003, Howard filed a petition for habeas relief in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. In his federal habeas petition, which was prepared with the assistance of newly court-appointed counsel, Howard alleged that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel by not contesting the State's evidence at the guilt phase of his original trial. In addition, Howard argued that he was denied effective assistance of counsel during his second punishment phase because his attorney: (1) failed to object during voir dire when the prosecution informed potential jurors of Howard's first death sentence; (2) failed to strike a juror whose husband and brother were law enforcement officers; (3) entered into an agreement with the prosecution that allowed Howard's extraneous offenses into evidence without objection; and (4) failed to object to numerous prosecution exhibits. On March 19, 2004, the district court rejected Howard's claims, denied his habeas petition, and denied a COA on all of his claims. Howard now seeks a COA from this court only with respect to his argument that his trial attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel at the second punishment phase by not objecting when the prosecution repeatedly informed potential jurors that Howard had been sentenced to death at the original punishment phase of his trial.

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For the forgoing reasons, we DENY Howard's application for a COA.