John William Byrd Jr.
John William Byrd Jr. (December 18, 1963 – February 19, 2002) was an American man executed in Ohio for the murder of a convenience-store clerk, Monte Tewksbury. He spent 18 years on death row and was the third person to be put to death since Ohio brought back the death penalty in 1981. Byrd always said he was innocent.
On the night of April 17, 1983, in Hamilton County, Byrd and an accomplice robbed Monte Tewksbury, who was working alone as a night clerk. Byrd used a knife, and the robbers took about $133.97 and other items. Tewksbury was stabbed and died later at the hospital. The two robbers fled in a large red van. In a nearby store, Byrd and another associate tried a second robbery; again they left in the red van.
Police later linked the red van to Byrd, Brewer, and Woodall, and they were arrested. Byrd was charged as the killer and in the robbery. Brewer and Woodall were tried separately and received life sentences; Woodall died in prison in 2001. Brewer later claimed Byrd didn’t kill Tewksbury, but his credibility was questioned and evidence continued to support Byrd’s guilt.
Byrd’s appeals lasted many years, with more than 70 judges and justices reviewing the case. In 1995 the Sixth Circuit paused execution for a time. In 2001 Ohio changed its law to use lethal injection as the only method of execution. Governor Bob Taft denied clemency in February 2002. Byrd was executed by lethal injection at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility on February 19, 2002; nine minutes after the procedure began, he died.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 15:59 (CET).