Bio

Paul Augustus Howell was born on June 25, 1965. He was a member of the "Jamaican Posse" gang and had learned bomb-making skills during a period of service in the U.S. Army. By the early 1990s, Howell, his brother Patrick, and a woman named Tammie Bailey were part of a drug trafficking ring that obtained drugs in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and sold them in Marianna, Florida, in the state's panhandle region.

Murder Story

In January 1992, Paul Augustus Howell constructed a pipe bomb for the purpose of killing Tammie Bailey at her home in Marianna, Florida. Bailey, Howell, and Howell’s brother Patrick were connected to a drug ring in which drugs were obtained in Fort Lauderdale and sold in Marianna. The Florida Supreme Court stated that Howell wanted Bailey killed because she had information that could link Howell and his brother to a prior murder.

Howell hid the bomb inside a microwave oven, wrapped the microwave like a gift, and paid Lester Watson to deliver it to Bailey. Howell rented a car for Watson to use on the trip. Watson later testified that he saw Howell wrapping the package but believed it contained drugs, not a bomb.

On February 1, 1992, Watson was driving on Interstate 10 toward Marianna when Florida Highway Patrol Trooper James “Jimmy” Fulford stopped him for speeding. Watson gave Fulford a false name and birthdate because he did not have a valid driver’s license. A dispatcher contacted the rental company and then called Howell to ask about the car. Howell told the dispatcher he had loaned the car to Watson but did not warn law enforcement that the car contained a bomb.

Jefferson County deputies arrived to assist. Watson gave permission for the car to be searched, and officers saw the gift-wrapped microwave in the trunk. Watson and another passenger were taken to jail, and Fulford remained with the rental car. A short time later, the bomb exploded. Trial testimony from the State’s explosives expert indicated that Fulford was holding the microwave when the bomb went off. He died instantly from massive trauma caused by the blast.

Howell was charged with Fulford’s murder. Because of pretrial issues, the case was transferred from Jefferson County to Escambia County. The jury found Howell guilty of first-degree murder and of making, possessing, placing, or discharging a destructive device or bomb. The jury also returned a special verdict finding that the murder was proven under both premeditated murder and felony murder theories.

The penalty phase was held on October 21, 1994, and the jury recommended death by a vote of 10–2. On January 10, 1995, the trial court imposed the death sentence. The court found several aggravating circumstances, including that Howell knowingly created a great risk of death to many people, that the victim was a law enforcement officer performing official duties, and that the murder was cold, calculated, and premeditated.

Howell’s brother Patrick Howell did not receive the death penalty. The Florida Supreme Court noted that Patrick received life imprisonment without parole eligibility for 25 years, while Lester Watson pleaded to second-degree murder and received 40 years. The court found Paul Howell more culpable because he constructed the bomb and arranged its delivery.

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed Howell’s conviction and death sentence on February 12, 1998. His post-conviction appeal was also denied, and the Florida Supreme Court affirmed that denial in 2004.

Howell later filed a federal habeas petition, but the Eleventh Circuit ruled in 2005 that the petition was time-barred because it was not filed within the one-year AEDPA deadline. The court held that attorney negligence did not justify equitable tolling in his case.

In 2013, after a death warrant was signed, Howell filed additional post-conviction claims and sought a stay of execution. The Florida Supreme Court denied relief and denied the stay. The court again summarized that Howell had been sentenced to death after the bomb he built to kill a witness instead killed Trooper Fulford.

Paul Augustus Howell was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison on February 26, 2014. He was pronounced dead at 6:32 p.m.