COLUMBUS — Edging closer to an execution first ordered by a Hamilton County court 18 years ago, condemned killer John W. Byrd Jr. has one new, final argument:

        He didn't do it.

        John Brewer, an imprisoned accomplice of Mr. Byrd, now swears he is the one who stabbed convenience-store clerk Monte Tewksbury during a 1983 robbery in Colerain Township.

Mike Allen

        Two sworn affidavits from Mr. Brewer are at the core of a new appeal the state public defender's office will file at the Ohio Supreme Court this morning in a last-ditch attempt to overturn Mr. Byrd's death sentence.

        The U.S. Supreme denied Mr. Byrd's final guaranteed appeal Jan. 8.

        In one of his statements, obtained by The Cincinnati Enquirer, Mr. Brewer says he stabbed Mr. Tewksbury during a tussle behind the store's counter.

        “John Byrd Jr. and I got back in the van that we had gone to the King Kwik (store) in,” Mr. Brewer states. “When I got back in the van, I said to Danny Woodall, "Man, I stabbed a guy. Take off.'”

        This turn in the case comes with another twist. The public defender's office got its first sworn confession from Mr. Brewer in 1989, but failed to bring it forward until now.

        Greg Meyers, chief death-penalty counsel for the defender's office, said Thursday that Mr. Byrd's old team of lawyers made a tactical mistake by not bringing the statement to light years ago. Although they have since obtained a new signed confession from Mr. Brewer, that error may make it hard to convince the high court to reopen the case.

        “We're hoping the courts of Ohio will still view this evidence,” Mr. Meyers said. “They've got the wrong man on death row.”

        Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen was outraged at the news, calling it a stunt. He said a confession from a man who can't be prosecuted again for the crime is suspect, at best.

        Mr. Brewer was sentenced to 20 years to life for taking part in the murder and the robbery. Though he is up for parole in 2015, Mr. Meyers confirmed he cannot be tried again. Dan Woodall, identified as the getaway driver, also was sentenced to 20 years to life.

        “They had this same affidavit since 1989 and didn't bring it forward?” Mr. Allen said. “If we (prosecutors) did something like this, we'd be hauled before the court and charged with prosecutorial misconduct.

        “Monte Tewksbury's family has suffered enough,” Mr. Allen said. “These people will stop at nothing to keep the law from being carried out.”

        Sharon Tewksbury, Monte Tewksbury's widow, said she was not surprised to see the appeal. She said she is certain Mr. Byrd, not Mr. Brewer, is the man who killed her husband.

        “We had a trial. We had a conviction. We had a sentence 18 years ago,” Mrs. Tewksbury said. “We still are waiting.”

        No one, however, can predict how the court system will respond to the appeal or whether Mr. Byrd's execution will again be delayed.

        “It's hard to say,” Mr. Allen said.

        The Ohio public defender's office has fought a long and unsuccessful battle in the courts on Mr. Byrd's behalf. In those appeals, Mr. Byrd's attorneys argued his death sentence should be overturned because he was convicted on the testimony of a jailhouse informant who they say lied to get a more lenient sentence from prosecutors.

        All attempts to prove any connection between the informant, Ronald Armstead, and the prosecutor's office have failed or been denied by the courts.

        Mr. Byrd is in line to become the second man executed against his will in Ohio since the death penalty was reinstated in 1981. Cuyahoga County prosecutors already have asked the Ohio Supreme Court to set an execution date for killer Jay Scott, who lost his final appeal months ago.

        Ohio executed death-row inmate Wilford Berry in February 1999, after he waived all his remaining appeals.

Accomplice says Byrd didn't kill
Man lying in morgue 'not art,' family says
Taft school plan gets short shrift
Family stands by accused mom
Indicted officers' pay to be withheld
'Pimpernel' star inspires
RADEL: Judge's calls for order help maintain court's solemn role
Baby waiting for heart dies
Campbell County grand jury says son abused sick mother
Cops were warned before run-in
Covington, business fight tax
Five win Building Bridges honors
Former minister pleads not guilty
Hamilton won't close fire station
Kenton attorney expected to make switch to GOP today
Kenton Democrats rally
Kits help science learning
Lindner helps Hughes campaign
Lucas sits pretty as Blue Dog
Museum comes to school
Officers escape shotgun scare
Ohio voting systems debated
Trash-flingers targeted
Warren gives more to seniors
Kentucky News Briefs
Tristate A.M. Report