AP: Texas

10/06/2005

By MICHAEL GRACZYK  / Associated Press

Convicted killer Ronald Ray Howard was executed Thursday 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.