Ohio inmate who wanted elected chair executed by injection after last-minute appeal fails

LUCASVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- Convicted killer John W. Byrd Jr., who once chose the electric chair for his death to make a statement against capital punishment, was executed by injection on Tuesday after a federal appeals court refused to grant a stay.

Byrd, 38, was sentenced to die for the 1983 murder of Monte Tewksbury, 40, who was stabbed during a robbery at a convenience store outside Cincinnati where he was moonlighting to pay for his daughter's education.

Byrd maintained he was innocent of the murder. An accomplice, John Brewer, confessed to stabbing Tewksbury, but prosecutors argued that since Brewer already was serving a life sentence and could not be tried again, he was lying to protect Byrd.

It was Ohio's third execution since 1963, with all taking place in the past three years.

Gov. Bob Taft signed the bill in November that banned the use of the electric chair, and last week he denied Byrd clemency.