David M. Brewer

Who was David M. Brewer?

David M. Brewer was the ninth person executed by the state of Ohio since it reinstated the death penalty in 1981. Brewer died by lethal injection on April 29, 2003, after spending 17 years and six months on death row. He was convicted of the 1985 rape and murder of 21-year-old Sherry Byrne, the wife of a college fraternity brother.

After his indictment by a grand jury, Brewer waived his right to a jury and elected to be tried by a three-judge panel. He was found guilty on September 19, 1985, and sentenced to death in October 1985. His subsequent appeals at the state and federal levels were unsuccessful, as was his request for executive clemency.

At 10:00 AM on April 29, 2003, Brewer was lead into the execution chamber at the state prison in Lucasville, Ohio. He was declared dead at 10:20 AM.