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Ronford Lee STYRON Jr.
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics:
Parricide - Abuse
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: October 23,
1993
Date of arrest: 5 days after
Date of birth:
August 23,
1969
Victim profile: Lee Hollace Styron(his 11-month-old
son)
Method of murder:
Beating
Location: Liberty County, Texas, USA
Status:
Executed
by lethal injection in Texas on May 16,
2002
Summary:
On Oct. 23, 1993, Ronford Lee Styron punched his 11-month-old son,
Lee Hollace Styron, at least three times in the head and face,
causing him to black out and act abnormally thereafter.
Styron did not take the infant to the hospital until the child's
condition worsened three days later. The infant died as a result of
subdural hemorrhaging due to trauma to the head.
The fatal injuries were the culmination of a long pattern of abusive
behavior directed at the 11-month-old victim, including punching him
in the face, dunking him in ice water, squeezing him hard enough to
break his ribs, and shaking him hard enough to cause retinal
hemorrhages. The victim's older injuries included at least 10 broken
bones.
Styron also stuffed tape into the child's mouth to quiet him and
palmed the child's head like a basketball, thus dangling the child
like a puppet.
Styron's abusive treatment of the victim was motivated by Styron's
anger at his wife for allegedly having an affair and Styron's
expressed opinion that the victim was not his biological child.
Citations:
Styron v. Johnson, 262 F.3d 438 (5th Cir. 2001) (Habeas).
Final Meal:
Mexican platter with all the works, two classic Cokes, pickles,
olives, and Cookies and Cream ice cream.
Final Words:
"I'm going to go with my little boy and play with him. ... Lord
Jesus, I see your spirit, it's OK, I love you."
ClarkProsecutor.org
Texas Attorney General
Media Advisory
Tuesday, May 14, 2002
Ronford
Lee Styron Scheduled to be Executed.
AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General John Cornyn
offers the following information on Ronford Lee Styron, who is
scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 16, 2002.
On Oct. 27, 1994, Ronford Lee Styron was
sentenced to death for the capital murder of Lee Hollace Styron in
Liberty County, Texas, on Oct. 23, 1993. A summary of the evidence
presented at trial follows:
FACTS OF THE CRIME
On Oct. 23, 1993, Ronford Lee Styron punched his
11-month-old son, Lee Hollace Styron, at least three times in the
head and face, causing him to black out and act abnormally
thereafter.
Styron did not take the infant to the hospital until the
child's condition worsened three days later. The infant died as a
result of subdural hemorrhaging due to trauma to the head. Any one
of the three blows could have caused the death.
The fatal injuries were the culmination of a long
pattern of abusive behavior directed at the 11-month-old victim,
including punching him in the face, dunking him in ice water,
squeezing him hard enough to break his ribs, and shaking him hard
enough to cause retinal hemorrhages.
The victim's older injuries
included at least 10 broken bones. Styron also stuffed tape into the
child's mouth to quiet him and palmed the child's head like a
basketball, thus dangling the child like a puppet.
Styron demonstrated little concern for the
condition of the infant either before or during his final
hospitalization. When advised by police that Lee Hollace was not
expected to live, Styron showed no remorse or sign of being upset.
Styron was the child's primary caregiver. Living
conditions in his home were filthy and Styron's other baby was not
in good condition at the time of the victim's death. Styron's
abusive treatment of the victim was motivated by Styron's anger at
his wife for allegedly having an affair and Styron's expressed
opinion that the victim was not his biological child.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Styron was indicted on Dec. 1, 1993, in the 253rd
Judicial District Court of Liberty County, Texas, for the capital
offense of murdering Lee Hollace Styron, an individual less than six
years of age, on Oct. 23, 1993.
Styron was tried before a jury upon
a plea of not guilty, and on Oct. 24, 1994, the jury found him
guilty of the capital offense.
On Oct. 27, 1994, following a
separate punishment hearing, the jury answered affirmatively the
first special sentencing issue, and negatively the second special
issue. In accordance with state law, the trial court assessed
Styron's punishment at death.
Styron's conviction and sentence were
automatically appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which
affirmed in an unpublished opinion.
On April 29, 1997, that court
appointed James F. Keegan to represent Styron on state habeas corpus
review. Styron filed his original application for writ of habeas
corpus in the state trial court on Sept. 17, 1997, raising 43
grounds for relief.
On Feb. 24, 1998, the state trial court issued
findings of fact and conclusions of law recommending that relief be
denied on Styron's original application. In an unpublished order
issued on April 29, 1998, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
adopted the trial court's findings and conclusions and denied habeas
corpus relief.
On June 11, 1998, Styron filed a petition for a
writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division. On March 5, 1999, the
district court granted the Director's motion for summary judgment
and denied Styron's request for federal habeas relief.
An addendum
to the memorandum opinion and order, also denying relief, was issued
on April 14, 1999. On May 20, 1999, the district court granted in
part Styron's application for a certificate of appealability.
In May 1999 Styron filed a notice of appeal and
requested expansion of the certificate of appealability. On Dec. 28,
2000, the Fifth Circuit entered an order carrying Styron's motion
for COA with the case. On Aug. 15, 2001, the Fifth Circuit denied
Styron's request for COA, and affirmed the district court's denial
of habeas corpus relief in a published opinion. On Aug. 8, 2001,
Styron filed a motion for rehearing which the Fifth Circuit denied
on Sept.10, 2001.
On Nov. 30, 2001, Styron filed a petition for
writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court. On Feb. 25,
2002, the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari.
On March 17, 2002, Styron filed a pro se original
petition for federal habeas corpus relief in the United States
Supreme Court. The petition was docketed by the Court clerk as an
extraordinary writ. The Director filed a brief opposing the grant of
habeas relief on grounds the issues raised in the pro se petition
had already been raised before and rejected by the Supreme Court.
Styron's pro se petition is still pending.
CRIMINAL HISTORY
Styron's documented criminal history reflects
that he had been in trouble with the law several times prior to the
1993 capital murder of Lee Hollace Styron that ended in his sentence
of death.
On April 18, 1991, Styron was convicted and
sentenced to one year of probation for carrying a weapon by the
County Criminal Court at Law of Harris County, Texas.
On June 8, 1999, Styron was convicted and
sentenced to one year of probation for assault by the County
Criminal Court at Law of Harris County, Texas.
In addition, the jury learned that:
Styron had a reputation for being a schoolyard
bully and for provoking fights with classmates beginning in the
seventh grade. At least one of his victims required medical
attention and at least one of his attacks resulted in his expulsion
from school.
Styron was discharged from the military for
punching his sergeant. He had problems with authority figures in his
civilian employment and physically threatened several people while
on the job.
Styron had a reputation in his neighborhood for
being overly aggressive. Neighbors reported that Styron participated
in a violent street riot, that he had been observed taking out his
anger on his car, firing a gun at it, kicking it, etc., and that he
had made an unprovoked physical attack upon one of his neighbors
which broke the man's jaw.
Styron had been arrested for an incident on the
freeway in Houston in which he pointed a pistol at the passengers in
another vehicle, and later started a fist fight with the driver on
the side of the freeway.
ProDeathPenalty.com
A man convicted of killing his 11-month-old son
was put to death by lethal injection on Thursday in a Texas prison.
Ronford Styron was condemned for punching son Lee at least three
times in the head and face on Oct. 23, 1993, at their home in Dayton,
Texas, northeast of Houston. The boy died two days later of a brain
hemorrhage.
At his trial, Styron admitted striking the child
in anger because he suspected the boy was not his biological son. He
said he did not mean to kill him, but investigators said the child
had numerous broken bones from a long history of abuse - physical
evidence showed at least 10 previous broken bones.
In a final statement as he lay strapped to a
gurney in the Texas death chamber, Styron said: "I'm going to go
with my little boy and play with him. ... Lord Jesus, I see your
spirit, it's OK, I love you." For his final meal, Styron requested a
platter of Mexican food, two Classic Coca-Colas, pickles, olives,
and cookies-and-cream ice cream.
Texas Execution Information
Center by David Carson
Txexecutions.org
Ronford Lee Styron Jr., 32, was executed by
lethal injection on 16 May in Huntsville, Texas for beating his
infant son to death. In October 1993, Ronford Styron, then 24, took
his 11-month-old son, Lee Hollace Styron, to the hospital in Liberty.
The baby had a swollen face and several broken ribs. He was
transferred to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, where he died
two days later. The cause of death was subdural hemorrhaging due to
trauma to the head. Doctors later discovered that Lee had older
injuries that included at least ten broken bones.
Styron told police that he suspected that the
baby boy was not his biological offspring, and he took his anger out
on him. He waited several days before taking him to the hospital.
At his trial, Styron testified that he did strike
his son, but only once, to stop him from choking on food. He said
that he never intended to kill the child. Witnesses, however,
testified that Styron had a history of anger and brutality. He was
expelled from the seventh grade for fighting with classmates, was
discharged from the military for punching his sergeant, he
physically threatened co-workers, and he broke a neighbor's jaw.
Neighbors observed him kicking his own car and firing a gun at it.
He was also arrested for pointing a pistol at
another vehicle on the freeway and for starting a fist fight with
the driver. Styron's only prior conviction was in 1991. He was
sentenced to one year of probation for unlawfully carrying a weapon.
A jury convicted Ronford Styron of capital murder
in October 1994 and sentenced him to death. He was the first person
to be convicted under a revised Texas statute that made the killing
of a child under the age of 6 a capital offense. Styron's lawyer
argued that his sentence was unconstitutional because the state had
not proven an intent to kill his son. Prosecutors pointed to
Styron's pattern of past conduct and the child's old injuries as
evidence of his intent. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed
his conviction and sentence in October 1996. All of his subsequent
appeals in state and federal court were denied.
"I love y'all and I want y'all to know that,"
Styron said in his final statement. "I am going to go with my little
boy and play with him." Styron then named several family members by
name and said, Y'all be careful. Lord Jesus, I see your Spirit, it's
o.k. I love you." After this, the lethal injection was started.
Inmate Executed for Killing 11-month-old son
By Michael Graczyk -
Houston Chronicle
Associated Press - May 17, 2002
HUNTSVILLE -- An unemployed laborer with a
history of aggressive behavior was executed Thursday for fatally
beating his 11-month-old son 8 1/2 years ago. Ronford Styron, 32,
told family and friends that he loved them and was worried about
them. "I'm going to go and be with my little boy and I'm going to
have fun with him," he said, smiling and looking at relatives,
including his mother and grandmother, who watched through a window.
"I know where I'm going. I want to see all of you there. You get
your hearts right," he said. He sputtered and gasped and stopped
moving. He was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m., seven minutes after the
lethal dose began.
Styron, from Dayton in Liberty County,
acknowledged he punched the child once in the head but contended in
last-day appeals to the courts that he didn't intend to kill his
son. The U.S. Supreme Court refused Thursday afternoon to review his
case. He was the 12th Texas inmate put to death this year and second
this month. Three more executions are set for May, including one
next week.
The death of Lee Hollace Styron culminated what
authorities said was repeated abuse and months of mistreatment that
had left the baby with numerous broken bones and other injuries. "Except
somebody who kills hundreds or thousands of people, I don't see how
you can get a more heinous offense," Steve Greene, who prosecuted
Styron in 1994, said this week. "He basically tortured the child
through most of his short life."
The child was one month shy of his first birthday
when he died Oct. 28, 1993, at Houston's Texas Children's Hospital,
three days after he was brought into an emergency room in Liberty,
about 40 miles east of Houston. When the child's injuries did not
match information presented to physicians treating the comatose
infant, authorities began investigating. It was just weeks after a
then-new Texas law took effect that made accused killers of children
under the age of 6 eligible for the death penalty. "We were going
for the death penalty because a child is the most helpless person
you can have, especially an 11-month-old baby," Greene said.
Medical examiners found the baby suffered three
recent blows to the head and any of them could have been fatal. At
least 10 bones were broken in previous injuries. Testimony showed
Styron stuffed the child's mouth with tape to stop him from crying,
palmed his head like a basketball, dunked him in ice water, squeezed
his chest hard enough to break ribs and shook him so hard the
retinas of his eyes hemorrhaged. "I won't be forgetting him," Greene
said. "It was really a sad case."
Psychologists found Styron hostile, aggressive
and a person who held grudges and had trouble with authority
figures. Testimony showed Styron was booted out of school for
fighting and let go from the military for punching a sergeant, that
he beat up a neighbor, kicked and shot at his own car and brawled
with another motorist on the side of a Houston freeway. Relatives
told investigators they thought of reporting Styron to child
protective officials but feared him. Although he had not been in
prison before, he had been on probation twice for a weapons offense
and assault.
Greene said prosecutors had no evidence to tie
Styron's wife and the child's mother to any of the abuse although
the home conditions were described as filthy. "She just wasn't a
very attentive mother," Greene said. "There was evidence both of
them had been unfaithful at different times and he doubted the baby
was really his, even though his family said the child looked a lot
like him."
Liberty County
man exected for son's murder
By Mark Passwaters
A Liberty County
man sentenced to death for beating his 11-month-old son to death was
executed Thursday night in the death chamber of the Huntsville "Walls"
Unit.
Ronford Lee Styron
Jr., 33, was convicted and sentenced to death by a Liberty County
jury after he punched his son, Lee Styron, causing fatal injuries.
Under Texas law, the killing of any person under the age of 6 can
automatically be considered a capital case.
On Thursday, Styron
waved his fingers at his family and friends through the wraps used
to bind him to the gurney as he began his final statement at 6:12
p.m.
"I know where I am
going," Styron said. Addressing his family, he added, "I want to see
you there, so get your heart right. You know I love you and care for
you."
Styron then said,
"I am going to go see my little boy now and I'm going to have some
fun with him."
Choking back tears,
Styron addressed his family a final time, saying, "Y'all take care
and I love y'all."
The fatal dose of
chemicals was administered to Styron at 6:13 p.m., and he lost
consciousness looking at his family. He was pronounced dead at 6:20
p.m.
According to
information provided by the Texas State Attorney General's office,
Styron punched his son, Lee, three times in the head on Oct. 23,
1993. Styron refused to take his son to the hospital for three days
in spite of blackouts and abnormal activity. It was determined that
Lee Styron's death was caused by massive head trauma, which could
have been caused by any of the three punches thrown by his father.
Styron, who said he
did not believe the child was actually his and was the product of an
alleged affair by his wife, abused the infant repeatedly.
It was alleged
Styron dunked the baby in ice water, squeezed him hard enough to
break his ribs, and shook him hard enough to cause retinal
hemorrhages. Lee Styron suffered at least 10 broken bones in his 11-month
life.
Ronford Styron was
arrested shortly after his son's death and was formally indicted on
murder charges on Dec. 1, 1993. During his trial, the prosecution
told the jury Styron had a history of committing violent acts. He
was discharged from the military after striking his sergeant and had
attacked one of his neighbors, breaking his jaw.
Styron was found
guilty of killing his son Oct. 24, 1994, and was sentenced to death
three days later. Numerous appeals to the Fifth Circuit Court of
Appeals and to the United States Supreme Court were denied.
Ronford Styron: Killed by the state of Texas on
May 16, 2002
Deathrow.at
Ronford Styron waved his fingers at his family
and friends through the wraps used to bind him to the gurney as he
began his final statement at 6:12 p.m. "I know where I am going,"
Styron said. Addressing his family, he added, "I want to see you
there, so get your heart right. You know I love you and care for you."
Styron then said, "I am going to go see my little boy now and I'm
going to have some fun with him."
Choking back tears, Styron addressed his family a
final time, saying, "Y'all take care and I love y'all." The fatal
dose of chemicals was administered to Styron at 6:13 p.m., and he
lost consciousness looking at his family. He was pronounced dead at
6:20 p.m.
Styron v. Johnson,
262 F.3d 438 (5th Cir. 2001) (Habeas).
Appellant Ronford Lee Styron, Jr., was convicted
of the capital murder of his eleven-month old son, Lee Hollace
Styron, and sentenced to death.
The medical evidence introduced at trial
indicated that the victim died as a result of subdural hemorrhaging
caused by trauma to the head. The evidence revealed that the child
had suffered at least three distinct blows to his head, any one of
which could have caused his death. Medical testimony indicated that
the blows appeared to have been inflicted contemporaneously. Styron
testified that he punched the victim in the head one time and did
not offer any explanation as to how the victim received multiple
bruises on his head.
Other medical evidence revealed the victim
sustained retinal hemorrhages consistent with repeated episodes of
shaken-baby trauma and multiple rib fractures within at least two
weeks prior to his death. Testimony established that Styron squeezed
the victim's stomach approximately three weeks before his death.
Other testimony revealed that Styron had on numerous occasions
physically abused the victim. The child had been taken to the
hospital on three prior occasions: once for a cut lip, once for a
broken leg, and once for treatment of a seizure disorder.
Styron was indicted by the grand jury of the 75th
District Court of Liberty County, Texas. Count I of the indictment
alleged that Styron, on or about October 23, 1993, in Liberty County,
Texas, intentionally and knowingly caused the death of Lee Hollace
Styron, an individual under six years of age, by striking and
hitting the child's head with his fist, by causing the child's head
to strike and hit an object, and by manner and means unknown. Count
II of the indictment charged Styron with murder, alleging
essentially the same conduct as did Count I. Count III alleged
injury to a child. The 75th District Court found Styron to be
indigent and appointed Walter F. Fontenot to represent him on
November 2, 1993.
At the request of the State, without notice to
Styron or his attorney and without a hearing, the action was
transferred by the 75th District Court to the 253rd District Court
of Liberty County. On January 4, 1994, the 253rd District Court, on
Styron's motion, appointed Gary W. Bunyard as additional counsel. On
January 5, 1994, Styron filed a pre-trial motion to quash the
indictment contending that the government manipulated the transfer
to secure a more favorable forum in which to prosecute the action.
On May 10, 1994, after a hearing, the trial court denied the motion
to quash.
Styron was tried before a jury upon a plea of not
guilty. His defense was based upon a lack of intent to harm or to
kill the child. The defense presented evidence that Styron was in
fact a loving father to the victim; however, the jury convicted
Styron of capital murder on October 24, 1994.
On October 27, 1994, the punishment phase of the
trial was presented to the jury. The State produced numerous
witnesses who testified about their knowledge of Styron's reputation
and behavior. Four witnesses testified of his propensity to
instigate fights. One witness testified that Styron provoked a fight
with a boy who could not fight back because of a bad arm, *443 and
that Styron hit the boy several times before the witness grabbed
Styron. Styron's high school principal and assistant principal both
testified that he had a reputation for violence. A Dayton police
officer, Shannon Spear, testified that Styron had violently attacked
another boy while in the seventh grade, attacked a man on a freeway,
and punched his sergeant while in the Army.
Curtis Wills, a psychologist called as a witness
by the defense, testified that he could not predict whether Styron
was likely to commit future criminal acts. On cross-examination,
Wills testified that the results of the Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory (MMPI) indicated that Styron was hostile, was
aggressive, and was a person who harbored grudges. Wills further
testified that Styron was the type of person who tends to be
diagnosed with an anti- social personality. Dr. Gripon, a
psychiatrist, testified for the State. After a review of the offense
reports, Styron's statements, and the results of the MMPI, in
response to a hypothetical question Dr. Gripon testified that in his
opinion Styron was a continuing threat to commit future acts of
violence.
After the hearing, the jury answered
affirmatively the first special sentencing issue as to whether
Styron posed a continuing threat to society. The jury answered
negatively the second special sentencing issue as to whether
mitigating circumstances warranted a sentence of life imprisonment
rather than the imposition of a death sentence. Accordingly, the
trial court sentenced Styron to death in accordance with Texas law.
Styron appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals. The conviction and sentence were affirmed in an unpublished
opinion issued October 30, 1996. Styron v. State, No. 72,001 (Tex.Crim.App.1996).
The Court of Criminal Appeals appointed James F. Keegan to represent
Styron on state habeas corpus review. Application for writ of habeas
corpus was filed, raising forty-three grounds for relief. Ex parte
Styron, No. 20,278-A. Without a hearing on the state writ, the state
trial court adopted the findings of fact and conclusions of law
submitted by the State and recommended that relief be denied. The
Court of Criminal Appeals, without discussion or analysis, adopted
the trial court's findings and conclusions in a one-page opinion and
denied habeas corpus relief in an unpublished order. Ex parte Styron,
No. 37,058- 01 (Tex.Crim.App.1998).
Styron filed a federal petition for a writ of
habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The United States
District Court for the Eastern District of Texas denied his motion
for summary judgment and writ of habeas corpus, lifted the stay of
execution, and granted respondent's motion for summary judgment.
Styron v. Johnson, No. 6:98 CV 338 (E.D.Tex.1999). The district
court issued COA on four of twenty-one issues requested.
