Editing Ricky Ray Rector (section)

==Murders and trial==
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.<ref name=bright>{{cite web|last1=Bright|first1=Stephen B.|title=Capital Punishment: Race, Poverty & Disadvantage|url=http://campuspress.yale.edu/capitalpunishment/files/2014/12/Class-1-Part-1-Rector-q7tpo2.pdf|website=Yale Campus Press|publisher=Yale Law School|accessdate=January 31, 2015|archive-date=November 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151112151844/http://campuspress.yale.edu/capitalpunishment/files/2014/12/Class-1-Part-1-Rector-q7tpo2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=March 24, 1981 |title=A man wanted on murder charges in a fraternity... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/03/24/A-man-wanted-on-murder-charges-in-a-fraternity/6665354258000/ |access-date= |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref>

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.<ref name=bright /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Patrolman Robert W. Martin |url=https://www.odmp.org/officer/8627-patrolman-robert-w-martin |access-date= |website=The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nguyen |first=Alexander |date=2001-12-19 |title=Bill Clinton's Death Penalty Waffle -- |url=https://prospect.org/article/bill-clinton-s-death-penalty-waffle/ |access-date= |website=The American Prospect |language=en-us}}</ref> 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.<ref name="bright" /> Rector then turned and walked out of the house.<ref>{{cite news|title=Police Officer Killed During Mission to Apprehend Suspect|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115460456/police-officer-killed-during-mission-to/|newspaper=[[The Daily Oklahoman]]|date=March 25, 1981|page=46|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=December 30, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Arkansas Policeman Slain in Shooting|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115460293/arkansas-policeman-slain-in-shooting/|newspaper=[[The Memphis Press-Scimitar]]|date=March 25, 1981|page=3|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=December 30, 2022}}</ref>

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]].<ref name="GraetzGreenhouse2016">{{cite book|last1=Graetz|first1=Michael J.|last2=Greenhouse|first2=Linda|title=The Burger Court and the Rise of the Judicial Right|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CdXPCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA37|year=2016|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-1-4767-3252-7|page=37|access-date=2017-12-18|archive-date=2020-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324234801/https://books.google.com/books?id=CdXPCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA37|url-status=live}}</ref>

Rector survived the suicide attempt and was put on trial for the first-degree murders of Criswell and Martin, as well as first-degree battery of the Herveys.<ref name=":0" /> His defense attorneys argued that Rector was intellectually impaired and not competent to stand trial. However, after hearing conflicting testimony from several experts who had evaluated Rector, Judge George F. Hartje ruled that Rector was [[competent to stand trial]]. Rector was convicted on both counts and sentenced to death by the jury.<ref name=bright /><ref>{{cite court
|litigants=Ricky Ray RECTOR, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee.
|vol=277 Ark. 17, 638 S.W.2d 672 (1982)
|reporter=
|opinion=
|pinpoint=
|court=Supreme Court of Arkansas.
|date=September 13, 1982
|url=http://174.123.24.242/leagle/xmlResult.aspx?xmldoc=19821310638SW2d672_11305.xml&docbase=CSLWAR1-1950-1985
|quote=
}}</ref><ref>{{cite court
|litigants=Ricky Ray RECTOR, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee.
|vol=280 Ark. 385 659 S.W.2d 168 (1983)
|reporter=
|opinion=
|pinpoint=
|court=Supreme Court of Arkansas.
|date=October 17, 1983
|url=http://174.123.24.242/leagle/xmlResult.aspx?page=2&xmldoc=1983827659SW2d168_1827.xml&docbase=CSLWAR1-1950-1985&SizeDisp=7
|quote=
}}</ref><ref>{{cite court
|litigants=RICKY RAY RECTOR, PETITIONER v. A.L. "ART" LOCKHART, Director Arkansas Department of Corrections and STEVE CLARK, Attorney General of the State of Arkansas, RESPONDENTS
|vol=727 F.Supp. 1285 (1990)
|reporter=
|opinion=
|pinpoint=
|court=UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS, PINE BLUFF DIVISION
|date=January 3, 1990
|url=http://ar.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19900103_0000001.EAR.htm/qx
|quote=
}}</ref>