Thu Feb 09 2012

Death Row Inmate Speaks Out
by John W. Byrd, Jr.
August 11, 2000

This letter was sent by death row inmate Johnny Byrd on Easter to Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church as a desperate plea to help save his life.

Seventeen and a half years ago I awoke to a horrible nightmare. At the young stage of my life – when others my age were dreaming of their futures, I was shouldered with the weight of the world. I became a socially accepted sacrifice. I am an expendable pawn in the furtherance of self-serving political, financial aspirations. I was sentenced to die for a murder I didn’t commit. I have maintained my innocence for all these years I have been held captive in the bowels of society’s murder machine. I have fallen short in the glory of God – but a killer I am not!!! In my battle to show my innocence, I was prematurely placed in the death house only feet away from the electric chair and came within minutes of being murdered by the state of Ohio. I have never been given the opportunity within this deteriorating justice system to be heard. Permitting the crimes that have been committed against me to be whitewashed. Now once again I am facing pending murder, and still I haven’t been heard. For if I was heard, it would expose the improprieties and the crimes committed by the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s office in order to obtain a conviction and sentence of death. I realize it is often heard from others in my situation that they are innocent, and these claims are taken with a grain of salt. This can no longer be an acceptable practice. Too much evidence in the most recent of times has been showing that innocent men and women have been wrongfully convicted and murdered by the states, or imprisoned. But yet when this happens no one is held accountable. Until state elected officials, (judges, prosecutors, governors, attorney generals, etc.) are held accountable for knowingly permitting and committing state sanction murder – it’ll never stop!

In my case, there is literally no evidence against me, as there shouldn’t be, I’m an innocent man! I was convicted and sentenced to be murdered on the testimony of a jailhouse informer. An individual who has been convicted of sodomy, assaults, drugs, etc. But yet the prosecutor’s office worked out a deal with this individual to be set free to victimize society so that perjured testimony could be used to place an innocent man to death. As I stated in the above, my state sanctioned murder is pending for a crime I did not commit. If I don’t start receiving gravely needed help, soon they will murder me, to hide what has been done to me. Attached to this letter you will find a copy of the appendix written by the Honorable Judge Nathaniel R. Jones, which is not going to be permitted to be placed in the text of the court’s opinion. What you are going to read is highly unusual, but strongly supports that I as an innocent man has never been given a chance to be heard and if something isn’t done soon, I’ll be murdered.

We have lost our way in this country, the churches have lost their way and stopped teaching scriptures as scriptures should be taught, electing to be more politically correct in order to keep the numbers in their congregations. Supporting capital punishment is not the will of God. In the book of Luke, God tells us, and I’ll place this in layman’s terms, that we have been taught “an eye for an eye,” but he went on to tell us, not to try and get even with a person who has wronged us, to be forgiving and to turn the other cheek. Also in the book of Luke God told us, “Judge not – for ye will be judged in the same light.” The Lord has told us that all life is precious. These are the basic teachings that have been forgotten for whatever reasons – but they are not the right reasons. The world is lost and so are Christians whose souls will be lost when the day of judgment comes. The Bible also tells us that what is in the dark will come to light, and that we should never bear false witness. The most precious gift ever given to mankind was murdered on the evidence of false witness. Haven’t we learned anything yet? On this day we’ll praise Jesus and celebrate his rising from the grave. If I am murdered by the state of Ohio it’ll be because of a false witness, however after my crucifixion I will not rise from the grave and walk among my loved ones. Is it God’s will that an innocent man be put to death? It’s time for what is hidden in the dark to come out into the light. I am passionately requesting your help.

God bless you and keep you safe,

Johnny W. Byrd, Jr.

You can write to him at: Johnny W. Byrd, Jr., #A175145, P.O. Box 788, Mansfield, Ohio, 44901.

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