For the1992 murder of a Texas Trooper

UPDATE: Earlier this evening, Ron Howard was put to death by the state of Texas.

“It helps knowing the son of a bitch got what he deserved,” said Linda Davidson, the trooper’s widow. “Today justice has been served. It’s real frustrating the wheels of justice turn very slowly.”

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On Thursday, Oct. 6, 2005, Ronald Ray Howard is scheduled to be executed by the state of Texas for the April 11, 1992 murder of Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Bill Davidson (43).

This is one of the more interesting death row stories, though.

Howard was 18 years old when he murdered Officer Davidson. Despite being an 8th grade dropout, by all accounts Howard appears to be an intelligent and thoughtful man. Which only makes his decision to kill that night all the more chilling.

So, what makes this case interesting? First of all, there is the unique defense that his lawyers tried to use to prevent a death sentence (there is no doubt as to his guilt: Howard freely admits that he killed the officer, and takes full responsiblity for his actions that night).

His lawyers claim that he was “influenced by rap music”:

“No doubt he was blasting that cop-killer music on his radio when he was pulled over by that trooper,” lawyer Allen Tanner recalled last week. “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. That was a totally valid serious defense. It really was.”

Howard, with “Soulja’s Story” by Tupac Shakur playing loudly, kept the truck in gear and his foot on the brake as Officer Davidson walked up. The song makes references to a young black male being pulled over by police, remembering Rodney King, then opening fire on an officer.

Having failed with his “Rap music made him do it” defense, Howard’s lawyer later tried to play off the murder as youthful folly:

“Teenagers do crazy stuff,” Tanner [Howard's lawyer] said. “He did something crazy and now is grown up. This is a case that’s really sad. This kid should not be executed. He’s always been really remorseful.”

Stealing a car, and then making the cold-blooded, calculated decision to shoot a police officer in the neck with armor-piercing hollow-points is what Tanner considers “crazy teenager” stuff? Mr. Tanner, you are a morally bankrupt individual for even saying those words…whether you actually believe them or not.

“Crazy teenager” behavior is wearing sneakers with your tuxedo to the Prom; it’s getting your eyebrow pierced to impress your friends; it’s thinking your generation is the first one to discover “goth”. Shooting a cop is NOT “crazy teenager” behavior.

Also coming to Howard’s defense (as they do for all death row inmates) is the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP), who posted the following glossed-over information about Howard:

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.

[Emphasis mine] Let’s get one thing straight: Howard was not an innocent kid who happened to make one horrible mistake that night. The night of the murder, Howard was on probation for an earlier conviction of stealing a car. The SUV he was driving that night was also stolen. The NCADP makes up a lie that Howard “panicked”. However, by his own words, he weighed and calculated his actions that night before he shot Officer Davidson:

“Should I shoot him or not?” Howard said, describing his thoughts the night of April 11, 1992 — he had time to weigh his actions, and he made the decision to shoot the officer. He didn’t “panic”. He acted in a cold-blooded, calculated manner.

He then leaned out of the stolen truck, raised his 9 mm pistol loaded with hollow-point bullets and fired. Davidson, a 43-year-old married father of two and a trooper for 19 years, was hit in the neck and died three days later.

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One of the other interesting aspects of this death row story is Ron Howard’s personal Web site. Unlike the typcial “pen pal wanted” Web pages of many death row inmates, Ron Howard’s Web site is much more…

It’s an indepth look into his life from his own perspective. It makes for an interesting read. It’s also commendable for it’s honesty in admitting and owning up to his resposibility in Officer Davidson’s death. It’s even more commendable for it’s stated purpose of trying to reach other kids who might be on the path to destruction, and to try to dissuade them from facing the same hell that he has wrought upon himself.

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.

I believe that people can change — and that tragedy can be learned from and overcome. I believe it’s quite possible and even likely that Mr. Howard has changed from that troubled teenager. He may no longer be a monster, as he claims. But, the fact remains, that on that night he was a monster. And no matter how much he’s changed or how remorseful he is of his crimes…he still has to pay for his crimes. And the cost of killing a cop is death.

Tonight, Ronald Howard will pay the price for crossing a line that we cannot allow in our society. I hope that during his time on death row and through his writings and reaching out to other troubled kids that he has been able to change the course of at least one kid’s life.