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Ricky Ray Rector
Ricky Ray Rector (January 12, 1950 – January 24, 1992) was an American convicted murderer who was executed for the 1981 murder of police officer Bob Martin in Conway, Arkansas. After killing a man in a restaurant and fleeing, Rector spent three days on the run before he agreed to turn himself in. However, instead of giving himself up, he shot and killed the police officer to whom he had agreed to turn himself in. He then shot himself in the head in a suicide attempt. The attempt effectively resulted in a lobotomy.
A 1991 request for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court was denied, with Justice Thurgood Marshall dissenting. Despite Rector's mental state, then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton made a point of returning to Arkansas to personally handle Rector's case during the 1992 U.S. presidential election campaign.
Rector was born and raised in Conway, Arkansas, as the sixth of seven children to steakhouse cook George Rector and college dorm maid Clyde Lee Rector. As a child, Rector was described as "different and strange", having no friends and keeping to himself, most often sitting under a tree to play with branches. Rector was physically abused by his father, who saw his son's languid behavior as defiance. Though normally introverted and docile, Rector would react violently if bothered, once stabbing his brother in the foot with a pair of scissors for taunting him.
By the time he entered junior high school, Rector possessed only third-grade level writing skills, which was later ascribed to an undiagnosed learning disability. By age 17, Rector developed severe anger issues and regularly got into fights, reportedly due to a mix of insecurity about his poor academic performance, insults about his perceived lack of intelligence by classmates and abusive racial remarks from white townsfolk.
After Rector was expelled from school in tenth grade for fighting, he began working as a blue-collar laborer in construction, often shuffling between Conway and Detroit. Rector married during this timeframe and had several children, both from his wife and extramarital affairs. His criminal record included disorderly conduct, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, assault and battery, grand larceny, forgery, and assault with intent to kill; all charges either led to monetary fines or were dismissed with prejudice.
On March 21, 1981, Rector and some friends drove to a dance hall at Tommy's Old-Fashioned Home-Style Restaurant in Conway. When one friend who could not pay the $3 cover charge was refused entry, Rector became incensed and pulled a .38 caliber pistol from his waist band. He fired several shots, killing 33-year-old Arthur D. Criswell, who died almost instantly after being struck in the throat and forehead, also wounding 52-year-old William Hervey and his 23-year-old son Charles. Rector left the scene of the murder in a friend's car and wandered the city for three days, staying in the woods or with relatives.
On March 24, Rector's sister convinced him to turn himself in. Rector agreed to surrender, but only to Robert Martin, a local police officer whom he had known since he was a child. Martin arrived at Rector's mother's home shortly after 3 p.m. and chatted with Rector's mother and sister. Shortly thereafter, Rector arrived and greeted Martin. As Martin turned away to continue his conversation with Rector's mother, Rector drew his pistol from under his shirt and fired two shots into Martin, striking him in the jaw and neck. Martin became the first officer of the Conway Police Department to die in the line of duty. Rector then turned and walked out of the house.
Once he had walked past his mother's backyard, Rector put his gun to his own temple and fired. Rector was quickly discovered by other police officers and taken to the local hospital. The shot had destroyed Rector's frontal lobe.
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Ricky Ray Rector
Ricky Ray Rector (January 12, 1950 – January 24, 1992) was an American convicted murderer who was executed for the 1981 murder of police officer Bob Martin in Conway, Arkansas. After killing a man in a restaurant and fleeing, Rector spent three days on the run before he agreed to turn himself in. However, instead of giving himself up, he shot and killed the police officer to whom he had agreed to turn himself in. He then shot himself in the head in a suicide attempt. The attempt effectively resulted in a lobotomy.
A 1991 request for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court was denied, with Justice Thurgood Marshall dissenting. Despite Rector's mental state, then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton made a point of returning to Arkansas to personally handle Rector's case during the 1992 U.S. presidential election campaign.
Rector was born and raised in Conway, Arkansas, as the sixth of seven children to steakhouse cook George Rector and college dorm maid Clyde Lee Rector. As a child, Rector was described as "different and strange", having no friends and keeping to himself, most often sitting under a tree to play with branches. Rector was physically abused by his father, who saw his son's languid behavior as defiance. Though normally introverted and docile, Rector would react violently if bothered, once stabbing his brother in the foot with a pair of scissors for taunting him.
By the time he entered junior high school, Rector possessed only third-grade level writing skills, which was later ascribed to an undiagnosed learning disability. By age 17, Rector developed severe anger issues and regularly got into fights, reportedly due to a mix of insecurity about his poor academic performance, insults about his perceived lack of intelligence by classmates and abusive racial remarks from white townsfolk.
After Rector was expelled from school in tenth grade for fighting, he began working as a blue-collar laborer in construction, often shuffling between Conway and Detroit. Rector married during this timeframe and had several children, both from his wife and extramarital affairs. His criminal record included disorderly conduct, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, assault and battery, grand larceny, forgery, and assault with intent to kill; all charges either led to monetary fines or were dismissed with prejudice.
On March 21, 1981, Rector and some friends drove to a dance hall at Tommy's Old-Fashioned Home-Style Restaurant in Conway. When one friend who could not pay the $3 cover charge was refused entry, Rector became incensed and pulled a .38 caliber pistol from his waist band. He fired several shots, killing 33-year-old Arthur D. Criswell, who died almost instantly after being struck in the throat and forehead, also wounding 52-year-old William Hervey and his 23-year-old son Charles. Rector left the scene of the murder in a friend's car and wandered the city for three days, staying in the woods or with relatives.
On March 24, Rector's sister convinced him to turn himself in. Rector agreed to surrender, but only to Robert Martin, a local police officer whom he had known since he was a child. Martin arrived at Rector's mother's home shortly after 3 p.m. and chatted with Rector's mother and sister. Shortly thereafter, Rector arrived and greeted Martin. As Martin turned away to continue his conversation with Rector's mother, Rector drew his pistol from under his shirt and fired two shots into Martin, striking him in the jaw and neck. Martin became the first officer of the Conway Police Department to die in the line of duty. Rector then turned and walked out of the house.
Once he had walked past his mother's backyard, Rector put his gun to his own temple and fired. Rector was quickly discovered by other police officers and taken to the local hospital. The shot had destroyed Rector's frontal lobe.