Executed February 19, 2002

Governor Bob Taft
77 South High Street, 30th Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215-6117

Re: John Byrd Jr.

Dear Governor Taft:

On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, we urge you to grant clemency to John Byrd Jr. The State of Ohio has a history of exercising compassion to death row inmates seeking clemency. Your recent denials of clemency to both Wilford Berry and Jay D. Scott mark a departure from this history. While the undisputed guilt of Mr. Berry and Mr. Scott in committing the crimes for which they were sentenced to death may have guided your denials of clemency in those cases, the same certainly cannot be said for Mr. Byrd. In fact, Ohio may be about to execute an innocent man.

Despite the fact that Mr. Byrd was singled out from his co-defendants as the principal offender for whom the state sought the death penalty, there is powerful evidence that John Brewer, one of the other defendants, actually stabbed Mr. Tewksbury.

First, the physical evidence implicates Mr. Brewer and not Mr. Byrd: A shoe print found on the top of the counter behind which Mr. Tewksbury was standing when stabbed belonged to Mr. Brewer and not Mr. Byrd; Mr. Tewskbury's personal effects were in the immediate area of the van where Mr. Brewer was sitting when the men were stopped; no evidence was found near Mr. Byrd; and while John Byrd had less than five dollars in his pocket at the time of his arrest, Mr. Brewer and the third defendant Mr. Woodall had eighty-nine dollars and thirty-two dollars, respectively, mostly in small bills.

Second, and more importantly, Mr. Brewer has repeatedly confessed to killing Mr. Tewskbury. As far back as 1985 and as recently as this year, Mr. Brewer has affirmed that he and not Mr. Byrd was the one who stabbed Mr. Tewskbury.

The only evidence presented to show that Mr. Byrd was the one who stabbed Mr. Tewksbury was the testimony of Ronald Armstead, a fellow inmate. Serious questions exist as to Mr. Armstead's credibility and as to whether Mr. Armstead and two other inmates fabricated their testimony in exchange for reductions in their sentences: In 1980, Mr. Armstead pleaded guilty to assault and drug trafficking felonies and was given a three to fifteen year sentence. In 1982, over the state's vehement objections, Mr. Armstead was released on parole. Within three months, Mr. Armstead was rearrested for robbery, at which time he was placed in the same facility as Mr. Byrd and his co-defendants. During Mr. Armstead's testimony against Mr. Byrd neither the state nor Mr. Armstead revealed that he was in violation of his parole and facing a three to fifteen year sentence. In fact, Mr. Armstead denied he was facing any additional jail time. Despite the state's original vigorous opposition to Mr. Armstead's parole, after his testimony against Mr. Byrd, the state reversed its position, informing the parole board that it no longer opposed Mr. Armstead's parole.

Despite this evidence of his innocence, Mr. Byrd has never been granted an evidentiary hearing to fully present such evidence.

The ACLU opposes capital punishment in all cases as a barbarous anachronism and in violation of the Constitution. However, whether an opponent or supporter of the death penalty, everyone agrees: it is not right to kill the wrong man.

We respectfully urge you to grant clemency in this compelling case.

Sincerely,

Diann Rust-Tierney
ACLU Capital Punishment Project

Scott T. Greenwood
ACLU of Ohio General Counsel

Amy L. Friedman
Pro Bono Counsel
Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP