Enquirer reporter Spencer Hunt was an official witness to Tuesday's execution. This is his report.

        LUCASVILLE, Ohio — Flanked by prison guards and faced with his own death, John William Byrd Jr. strode purposefully into Ohio's execution chamber Tuesday and climbed onto the injection gurney without hesitation or help.

        Flat on his back, Mr. Byrd closed his eyes and calmly held out tattooed arms pierced with lethal injection shunts as guards closed in to strap him down.

        Dressed in a simple white T-shirt, blue prison pants with a red stripe and a pair of tan, laced boots, Mr. Byrd raised his head briefly to look at a group of reporters gathered to watch him die.

        He was separated from his witnesses by about six feet and a wall of metal and glass.

        Mr. Byrd lifted his head again half a minute later and watched as another five witnesses walked in.

        To his two attorneys, Richard Vickers and Kathryn Sanford, he said a few words that could not be heard in the witness chamber. He smiled and held up two fingers in a gesture of either peace or victory.

        To the three witnesses who came on behalf of victim Monte Tewksbury, he simply stared and dropped his head back on the gurney. Son Matt Tewksbury, niece Kristi Pemberton and neighbor David Decker sat quietly in a semicircle facing Mr. Byrd and held hands as they watched the execution unfold.

        Prison officials had warned witnesses that Mr. Byrd planned to make a lengthy statement and that he also had some “choice words” for Mr. Tewksbury's family.

        They braced for the worst; but his statement was defiant and brief. He did not appear to make eye contact with anyone as he spoke, staring either at the ceiling or at the microphone that an unidentified prison official held over his head.

        “What you are witnessing, for whosoever is here for this state-sanctioned murder, a cowardice way of hiding behind the state seal ... you don't know what you're doing,” Mr. Byrd said.

        “I'd like to tell my family that I love them and to stay strong, and to tell my immediate family that I love them. My brother that I love him and my sister that we fought hard,” he said.

        “The corruption of the state will fall. Governor Taft, you will not be re-elected,” he added, and then ended with, “The rest of you, you know where you can go.”

        Though his words faded in and out of hearing, Mr. Byrd showed no signs of fear or remorse.His words to his family sounded encouraging and supportive.

        The execution itself was almost invisible. There was no signal, sign or any kind of clue to show when the lethal chemicals began flowing into Mr. Byrd's body.

        The death chamber was dimly lit and the electric chair, which lawmakers have banned from use, was hidden behind a heavy canvas curtain draped down the middle of the room.

        Mr. Byrd's defiance did not end even when it was obvious his execution had begun.

        He took a long, deep breath. He raised his head and smiled at his attorneys. He said something that could not be heard and winked at them.

        Kristi Pemberton turned to her cousin Matt and whispered, “I wish I could say something.” Those were quite possibly the only words uttered as Mr. Byrd lay dying.

        A few seconds later, Mr. Byrd took another big breath that sounded more like a heavy, long sigh. His chest continued to rise and fall. He held his left hand in a loose fist.

        The rise and fall of his stomach slowed as his breathing grew shallow. His right foot twitched once and then again.

        When his body appeared completely still, a guard who stood behind Mr. Byrd's head pulled a beige curtain across the window. A minute later, the curtain was drawn back to show Mr. Byrd's body.

        A voice pronounced, “Time of death, 10:09 a.m.”

        As the witnesses filed out, Mr. Decker turned to Mr. Tewksbury, patted his arm and said something that only the two of them and, perhaps, Ms. Pemberton could hear.

        It was almost as quiet as the execution itself.

End arrives for Byrd
Byrd was calm but still defiant as his life ended
Opponents of death penalty gather to wait
John Glenn had the stuff U.S. heroes are made of
Promises kept, officials say
DOJ reviews police probe of Thomas shooting
Meeting markets Reeces' clout
Black restaurateurs unite, question boycott
Chabot job: Bring campaign message to redrawn district
Class size counts for teachers
Flu scarce, but winter 'bugs' thrive
Hotels, visitors bureau to talk
Roach has first arrest as officer in Evendale
Tristate A.M. Report
BRONSON: Anthrax fears
HOWARD: Some Good News
SAMPLES: For teeth - and eyes
SMITH AMOS: City unprepared
Fourth-graders try hands at stamp design
Grand jury adds reckless homicide to man's charges
Lebanon budget may alter
Republicans file for re-election
Road projects could cost $266M
No-show jurors put off trial
Teacher credentials on Web
Tree concerns growing