Gregory Bryant-Bey « Thread Started on Oct 2, 2008, 2:09pm »
OH - Toledo murderer to have hearing on delaying execution
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU COLUMBUS - Convicted murderer Gregory Bryant-Bey will get a chance on Oct. 16 to ask Ohio to stay its hand when it comes to his scheduled execution.
The 53-year-old Toledo native faces lethal injection on Nov. 19 for the stabbing of Dale Pinkelman, owner of Pinky's Collectibles in North Toledo, during a 1992 robbery.
He is also serving a life sentence for the similar murder of Peter Mihas, owner of downtown Toledo's The Board Room restaurant.
Bryant-Bey won't be present, but the Ohio Parole Board will hear through his lawyer his case for why Gov. Ted Strickland should grant him mercy. The board would then make a recommendation to the governor.
The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction's offices at 770 W. Broad St. in Columbus.
Bryant-Bey has exhausted his appeals, and the Ohio Supreme Court set the date for his execution at the Southern Ohio Correctional Institution in Lucasville. He has asked federal court, however, to add him as a plaintiff to a separate lawsuit challenging Ohio's lethal injection protocol, a move that could delay his execution. http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081001/NEWS02/810010377
« Last Edit: Nov 17, 2008, 9:32pm by thinkinkmesa »
Lawyers for killer to ask Strickland for stay of e « Reply #1 on Oct 12, 2008, 10:02am »
OH - Lawyers for killer to ask Strickland for stay of execution
Article published Saturday, October 11, 2008 Lawyers for killer to ask Strickland for stay of execution
By JIM PROVANCE BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF
COLUMBUS — Lawyers for twice-convicted murderer Gregory Bryant Bey will urge Gov. Ted Strickland next week to stay the hand of Ohio's executioner, arguing that the Toledo native's 'life is worth sparing."
The state, however, plans to paint a picture of a killer of two downtown Toledo merchants in 1992 who has a long history of violence and should be forced to keep his Nov. 19 date with Ohio's lethal injection gurney.
'Gregory did not have a mother to love and nurture him or a father to provide support and guidance during the critical formative years of his life," reads Bryant Bey's clemency petition submitted by the Ohio Public Defender's office.
'Instead, he was abandoned by his mother to a brutal caretaker who was the antithesis of a loving parent," it reads.
'Gregory had no chance for a normal life due to factors beyond his control. He warrants understanding, and he deserves mercy."
Bryant Bey, 53, will not be present when his lawyers make his case before the nine-member Ohio Parole Board Thursday in Columbus, and he has declined to participate in a pre-hearing interview with a board member. The board will make a recommendation to the governor as to whether it believes Bryant Bey warrants mercy.
Yesterday, Mr. Strickland refused to grant clemency to Richard Cooey, who was convicted in the 1986 rapes and murders of two Akron college students.
He is scheduled to be executed Tuesday.
Bryant Bey was convicted and sentenced to death for the Aug. 9, 1992, robbery stabbing of Dale Pinkelman, 48, owner of Pinky's Collectibles.
But first he was convicted of the similar killing on Nov. 3, 1992, of Pete Mihas, 61, owner of the Boardroom restaurant. Although Bryant Bey was sentenced to life in prison for that crime, the evidence, including a confession, eventually helped to convict him in the earlier Pinkelman murder.
Bryant Bey is asking Mr. Strickland to commute his death sentence to life in prison, arguing that he has benefited from the structure of his incarceration and suggested he could help other inmates.
In the alternative, he asks for a 90-day delay in his execution to allow further exploration into the evidence used to convict him of killing Mr. Pinkelman.
'There is no doubt as to Bryant Bey's guilt in the murders of Pinkelman and Mihas," Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates argues in her brief opposing clemency.
'Bryant Bey's contention that certainty of his guilt would be even stronger if there was more evidence against him is a truism and does not undermine the validity of what evidence there is of his guilt," her brief reads. 'Moreover, it should be noted that Bryant Bey does not claim innocence, but rather seeks remission of his death sentence to life in prison. These factors do not warrant clemency."
Both Mr. Pinkelman and Mr. Mihas were married, with six and two children respectively.
Both families are expected to attend Thursday's hearing, but only the Pinkelman family will be permitted to speak to the parole board.
Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade. com or 614-221-0496.
Death row inmate wants his life spared « Reply #2 on Oct 18, 2008, 3:58pm »
Death row inmate wants his life spared Thursday, October 16, 2008 WTVG -- Gregory Bryant-Bey is on death row after murdering two Toledo business men in 1992, and today he asked the Ohio Parole Board to spare his life.
Gregory Bryant-Bey killed two Toledo business owners in 1992, and is on death row for one of the murders. Today, the condemned killer asked the Ohio Parole Board to spare his life.
The hearing lasted more than two hours and was very emotional. Gregory Bryant-Bey, 53, did not attend the hearing, a hearing to determine if he should die by lethal injection next month. Bryant-Bey was sentenced to death for robbing, stabbing, and killing Dale Pinkleman.
It happened in Pinkleman's card shop in 1992. A jury handed down the death penalty. Last month the parole board asked to interview Bryant- Bey, but he denied the request.
Today, the victim's family and friends and the defendant's relatives packed the courtroom to hear the death row inmate's request for mercy. It's a request the Lucas County prosecutor says should be turned down.
Bryant-Bey was described as a cold-blooded killer who killed a man for less than $200. But his family says that's not the man they know.
Gregory Bryant-Bey's family cried and begged the parole board to spare his life. His sister Ruth Williamson-Bey said, "I'm sorry. I just don't know what else to say about it. I love my brother. I miss him and I want to see him."
The death row inmate's lawyer, Rachel Troutman, argued the Toledo man's life is worth sparing. She blamed his violent behavior on an abusive upbringing.
Troutman claimed the 53-year-old man was abandoned by his mother and beaten by his adoptive mother. "I'm not telling you that a man who's committed murder at the age of 37 can rely on his childhood to blame. I'm telling you this is psychological reality that a child shapes who we become."
Sandra Mack is with the Ohio parole board. She says, "But there are so many of us who have accomplished regardless of that and do no harm. It's just sad that he did not take that road. He did not chose the right path, so it's just sad."
Joyce Donahue is the victim's sister. She said, "Maybe this might give you an idea about how many people's dreams changed after that August day in 1992." Dale Pinkelman's family cried as they shared pictures of Dale with the board, pictures of his grandchildren- -kids he'll never get to meet.
Pinkelman's daughter Kelly Pinkleman Clark said, "Gregory Bryant-Bey gave up his right to live when he chose to take the life of another and then another. He asks for mercy when he never gave any to my dad. It is time for the courts to send a strong message that if you take an innocent life, you forfeit yours."
The parole board voted behind closed doors, but will not announce their decision until next week. Bryant-Bey is scheduled to die November 19.
Ohio parole board hears from 2 sides in Bryant-Bey « Reply #3 on Oct 24, 2008, 11:40am »
Ohio parole board hears from 2 sides in Bryant-Bey case Bryant-Bey's family, victim's make appeals
By JIM PROVANCE BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF
COLUMBUS - The families of Gregory Bryant-Bey and Dale Pinkelman both sobbed for their loved ones yesterday, but they were before the Ohio Parole Board seeking very different things.
Bryant-Bey, 53, faces execution on Nov. 19 for the Aug. 9, 1992, robbery-murder of Mr. Pinkelman, a 48-year-old Toledo engineer and merchant, and has asked the board to recommend that Gov. Ted Strickland commute his sentence to life in prison.
"His life was taken by a man who had so little value for life that he was willing to kill my father for less than $200," Kelly Clark, Mr. Pinkelman's daughter, told the board. "Why should he be granted his request when my dad wasn't given the chance to ask for his?"
Ruth Williamson-Bey turned to the victims' families as she urged the parole board to spare her brother.
"I'm sorry for the victims and I understand how they feel, but you have to understand what we feel, too," she said. "Taking one death for another isn't going to make up for it."
Bryant-Bey's daughter and niece also urged the board to show him mercy.
Watching it all was the family of Pete Mihas, owner of downtown Toledo's Boardroom restaurant. Mr. Mihas, 61, was murdered by Bryant-Bey almost three months after Bryant-Bey killed Mr. Pinkelman, but he received a life sentence for that crime.
Bryant-Bey's clemency attorney, Rachel Troutman, painted a picture of a man who had been abandoned by his Toledo mother to be raised and beaten by his godmother in New York. She told the board about how he once had run away from home as a child to try to walk back home, and eventually became a chronic thief and drug abuser.
Eventually, his biological mother went back for him, returned him to Toledo, and left him with her ex-husband and his family. The ex-husband was not the boy's biological father.
"I'm not saying that, at 37, his childhood was to blame for the murders," Ms. Troutman said. "But [the] psychological reality is that childhood shapes who we become."
She spent no time suggesting that Bryant-Bey was innocent, but rather suggested he could do good for other inmates while spending the rest of his life behind bars.
Mr. Pinkelman's body, with a single stab wound in the chest, was found face-up on the floor of Pinky's Collectibles. His pants had been removed and his shoes placed neatly by the body.
On the following Nov. 9, Mr. Mihas was killed under very similar circumstances, this time with the knife left in his chest. The usually destitute Bryant-Bey raised suspicions when he showed up a local hotel waving a wad of cash.
Bryant-Bey confessed to killing Mr. Mihas. The similarity of the crimes, as well as a palm print he left behind at Pinky's Collectibles, later helped to convict him in the first murder.
Jay Clark, Kelly's husband and Mr. Pinkelman's son-in-law, urged the board not to give Bryant-Bey what he wants. The family described Mr. Pinkelman as a hard-working, loving husband and father who earned an engineering degree while working full-time at the Jeep plant.
"[Bryant-Bey's] daughter is right," Mr. Clark said. "The cycle must end. But it ends with the sentence being carried out."
The board's decision will be announced Thursday when it is sent to Mr. Strickland.
Board Chairman Cynthia Mauser noted that Ms. Williamson-Bey's testimony had noted that they'd taken him in upon his return to Toledo, and that they had tried to make him feel that he belonged. She also questioned an apparent lack of a juvenile record.
"What I hear today in my mind doesn't support your argument," she told Ms. Troutman. "His family took him in as one of their own … There's warmth there. There's a bond … It demonstrates that he has the ability to conform his behavior, but potentially chose not to during these acts."
Of its 34 death-row clemency decisions since 1999, the parole board has recommended mercy once. Assistant Lucas County Prosecutor Dave Cooper urged the board not to make Bryant-Bey the second.
"What you have here is a totally selfish, self-centered person who even now attempts to dodge responsibility, and you ought not to grant mercy," he said.
Ohio parole board tells governor to reject Bryant- « Reply #4 on Oct 24, 2008, 11:42am »
Ohio parole board tells governor to reject Bryant-Bey’s clemency request By JIM PROVANCE BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF
COLUMBUS — Gov. Ted Strickland should not show Gregory Bryant-Bey mercy in the 1992 robbery murder of a Toledo merchant, the Ohio Parole Board unanimously recommended Thursday.
Bryant-Bey, 53, faces lethal injection on Nov. 19 for killing Dale Pinkelman, 48, whose body was found lying face up, a single stab wound to his chest, on the floor of his shop, Pinkelman’s Collectibles.
He was also convicted in the similar murder almost three months later of Pete Mihas, 61, owner of downtown Toledo’s Boardroom restaurant. He received a life sentence for that murder, but the evidence from that case subsequently helped convict him of the earlier Pinkelman murder.
During his clemency hearing last week, Bryant-Bey’s attorneys made little effort to argue that he was innocent and instead focused largely on his upbringing, saying that this, and a history of drug and alcohol abuse, contributed to the man he became.
They argued that he’d been abandoned by his Toledo mother at a young age and was left with an abusive godmother in New York. They described an incident as a child when he ran away and tried to walk home to Toledo.
His mother eventually retrieved him, returned him to Toledo, and then left him with an ex-husband, who was not his father, and his family.
The argument didn’t sway the board.
"In fact, testimony and information presented indicated that after Bryant-Bey returned to Toledo at the age of 13, he was able to adjust adequately and conform to societal norms, and experienced a more stable family life," reads the report. "The board also notes that Gregory L. Bryant-Bey does not accept full responsibility for the crimes of conviction."
Bryant-Bey’s attorneys have asked the governor to commute his death sentence to life in prison without parole. As an alternative, they’d asked for a 90-day reprieve to further examine evidence in the case, but they barely mentioned this avenue during his clemency hearing.
Death row inmates do not attend their clemency hearings, and Bryant-Bey declined an opportunity to be personally interviewed by a board member at the Ohio State Penitentiary near Youngstown.
Of its 34 death-row clemency decisions since 1999, the board has recommended mercy just once and Gov. Bob Taft followed that recommendation, commuting a death sentence to life in prison.
For the most part, Gov. Ted Strickland has also followed the parole board’s recommendations in the few death row clemency decisions he’s made since taking office in early 2007. One exception was his decision to commute to life in prison the sentence of John Spirko, who faced execution for the 1982 murder of Van Wert County postmaster Betty J. Mottinger.
The parole board had twice recommended that Spirko not receive clemency.
No mercy for Toledo killer, parole board says « Reply #5 on Oct 24, 2008, 11:43am »
No mercy for Toledo killer, parole board says
Gregory Bryant-Bey
COLUMBUS - The Ohio Parole Board yesterday found "no compelling reason'' to recommend Gov. Ted Strickland show mercy to Gregory Bryant-Bey in the 1992 robbery and murder of a Toledo merchant.
Bryant-Bey, 53, faces lethal injection on Nov. 19 for killing Dale Pinkelman, 48, whose body was found lying face up, a single stab wound in his chest, on the floor of his shop, Pinky's Collectibles.
Bryant-Bey was also convicted in the similar murder almost three months later of Pete Mihas, 61, owner of downtown Toledo's Board Room restaurant. He received a life sentence for that murder, but the evidence from that case subsequently helped convict him of the earlier Pinkelman murder.
The killer's attorneys made little effort during his clemency hearing to argue that he was not guilty and instead focused largely on his upbringing. They argued that he'd been abandoned by his Toledo mother at a young age and was left with an abusive godmother in New York. They described an incident when, at a young age, he ran away and tried to walk home to Toledo.
His mother eventually retrieved him from New York, returned him to Toledo, and left him with an ex-husband, who was not his father, and his family.
The argument didn't sway the board, which pointed to the testimony given during the hearing of Bryant-Bey's half-sister, Ruth Williamson-Bey. She tearfully told the board that she'd asked her father to bring Bryant-Bey to their home after she learned of his existence.
"In fact, testimony and information presented indicated that after Bryant-Bey returned to Toledo at the age of 13, he was able to adjust adequately and conform to societal norms, and experienced a more stable family life,'' reads the board's report.
"The board also notes that Gregory L. Bryant-Bey does not accept full responsibility for the crimes of conviction,'' it reads. "The board finds that the death sentence in this case is fair and just and is not disproportionate when compared to similar cases.''
Members of the board had noted during the hearing that Ms. Williamson-Bey had managed to overcome her own substance abuse problems while her brother had not.
"I was disappointed that they didn't give more weight to the childhood that ended up creating this,'' said Ohio Assistant Public Defender Rachel Troutman, who argued the killer's case before the board.
"I was a little puzzled by the belief that he ended up able to adjust to societal norms,'' Ms. Troutman said.
"I think they misunderstood. Ruth had her share of problems as a result of her childhood, so if that's the more stable family life they're talking about, I don't understand how it could be used against him,'' she said.
The seven members of the board who participated in the hearing were all in agreement against recommending clemency.
Board member Jim Bedra did not participate. As a former victim advocate in Lucas County, he'd previously had some involvement with victims in the case. The ninth seat on the board is vacant.
Bryant-Bey's attorneys have asked the governor to commute his death sentence to life in prison without parole. As an alternative, they'd asked for a 90-day reprieve to further examine evidence in the case.
Unless Mr. Strickland rejects the board's recommendations or a court unexpectedly intervenes, Bryant-Bey would be transported the roughly 250 miles from death row at the Ohio State Penitentiary near Youngstown to the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville before his execution date.
"His legal counsel will consider all relevant aspects of the case and provide the governor with that totality of information, and then he will do the same,'' Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey said.
"His judgments are made on a case-by-case basis,'' he said.
Mr. Dailey noted that the governor also will consider court decisions in the case, evidence presented to the parole board on both sides, and letters received by his office.
Parole board denies inmate's clemency request « Reply #6 on Oct 24, 2008, 11:54am »
Parole board denies inmate's clemency request By Associated Press
POSTED: 12:38 p.m. EDT, Oct 23, 2008
COLUMBUS: The Ohio Parole Board has denied a clemency request by a death row inmate scheduled to be executed next month for stabbing a storeowner to death.
The seven-member board voted unanimously to deny clemency for Gregory Bryant-Bey of Toledo, sentenced to die for the 1992 killing of collectibles store owner Dale Pinkelman.
The 53-year-old Bryant-Bey is scheduled to die by injection Nov. 19.
Bryant-Bey also was convicted in the murder of Peter Mihas, owner of The Board Room restaurant in downtown Toledo. He was given a life sentence for that crime.
The parole board's report was forwarded today to Gov. Ted Strickland, who must decide whether to follow the board's recommendation.
Bryant-Bey would be the second Ohio inmate put to death this year following last week's execution of double-murderer Richard Cooey.
COLUMBUS: The Ohio Parole Board has denied a clemency request by a death row inmate scheduled to be executed next month for stabbing a storeowner to death.
The seven-member board voted unanimously to deny clemency for Gregory Bryant-Bey of Toledo, sentenced to die for the 1992 killing of collectibles store owner Dale Pinkelman.
The 53-year-old Bryant-Bey is scheduled to die by injection Nov. 19.
Bryant-Bey also was convicted in the murder of Peter Mihas, owner of The Board Room restaurant in downtown Toledo. He was given a life sentence for that crime.
The parole board's report was forwarded today to Gov. Ted Strickland, who must decide whether to follow the board's recommendation.
Toledo man who killed 2 faces execution Wednesday « Reply #7 on Nov 17, 2008, 9:31pm »
Toledo man who killed 2 faces execution Wednesday UPDATE: 4:30 PM, Saturday, November 15, 2008 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOLEDO A man whose arrest in one slaying led to a death sentence for another killing faces execution Wednesday after 16 years on death row.
Gregory Bryant-Bey is scheduled to die by injection for the 1992 killing of Toledo collectibles store owner Dale Pinkelman.
Pinkelman's slaying went unsolved for more than three months until Bryant-Bey was arrested for the stabbing of Peter Mihas, owner of The Board Room restaurant in downtown Toledo.
He was charged with Pinkelman's murder after detectives noted similarities in the slayings.
Both victims were stabbed in the chest and left without shoes and pants.
Toledo man who killed 2 faces execution Wednesday « Reply #8 on Nov 17, 2008, 9:33pm »
Toledo man who killed 2 faces execution Wednesday
Associated Press
TOLEDO — Staring at the body sprawled on a parking lot, the police detective’s mind flashed back to an unresolved killing a few months earlier.
The circumstances were eerily the same — the pants of both men had been removed and their shoes had been taken off and placed next to their bodies.
Both had been stabbed in the chest.
Those similarities, along with a bloody palm print found at one of the murder scenes 16 years ago, led to convictions against Gregory Bryant-Bey. He now faces execution Wednesday by lethal injection.
Bryant-Bey, 53, has been on death row since 1993. He is line to be the second Ohio inmate put to death this year following last month’s execution of double-murderer Richard Cooey.
After about a year without any executions in Ohio, more are expected to carried out in the next year.
The state had one of the nation’s busiest death chambers before an unofficial moratorium on executions that began last year while the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed Kentucky’s lethal injection procedure.
Bryant-Bey twice faced death penalty trials after he was arrested following the stabbing of Peter Mihas, owner of The Board Room restaurant in downtown Toledo.
Police caught up with him after a hotel clerk tipped them off that Bryant-Bey suddenly had a wad of cash. The clerk was suspicious because he knew the man had been panhandling on the streets.
Bryant-Bey quickly admitted to killing Mihas, who was attacked in his restaurant parking lot just after closing on Nov. 2, 1992. Police found an empty money bag next to his body.
But Bryant-Bey denied any involvement in the stabbing of collectibles store owner Dale Pinkelman three months earlier.
Pinkelman, like Mihas, was stabbed in the chest and left without his shoes and pants. Prosecutors later suggested that Bryant-Bey took off his victims’ pants so that he could more easily clean out the money in their pockets.
Pinkelman was found dead in the back of his store where he sold baseball cards, coins and watches.
“His life was taken by a man who had so little value for life that he was willing to kill my father for less than $200,” Kelly Clark, Pinkelman’s daughter, told Ohio Parole Board members.
Bryant-Bey escaped the death penalty the first time when jurors decided to give him a life sentence in the stabbing of Mihas.
Before the sentencing, Bryant-Bey apologized to the victim’s family.
“My life has been nothing but a struggle and this is where it has gotten me,” he said.
The death sentence that Mihas’ family had hoped for didn’t come until six months later, when Bryant-Bey was convicted in Pinkelman’s death and sentenced to die.
During that trial, prosecutors introduced evidence from the Mihas trial to show the likelihood he committed both killings.
Bryant-Bey’s attorneys have done little to dispute his guilt while making a plea for clemency. Instead, they have noted his troubled childhood and abandonment by his mother at a young age.
The state parole board, though, rejected the argument and noted that Bryant-Bey was able to adjust after he moved in with another family.
Additional Facts Timeline Timeline of events in the death penalty case of Gregory Bryant-Bey: —Aug. 9, 1992 — Bryant-Bey stabs and kills Dale Pinkelman, owner of sports collectibles and coin shop. The store’s cash register is cleaned out. —Nov. 4, 1992 — Bryant-Bey stabs and kills Toledo restaurant owner Peter Mihas in a downtown parking lot. An empty money bag is found nearby. —June 8, 1993 — Jury finds Bryant-Bey guilty in death of Mihas. —June 10, 1993 — Bryant-Bey is sentenced to life in prison for killing Mihas. —Nov. 11, 1993 — At second trial, Bryant-Bey is convicted of killing Pinkelman. —Dec. 22, 1993 — Bryant-Bey is sentenced to death for Pinkelman’s slaying. —Oct. 22 — Ohio Parole Board unanimously recommends that governor deny clemency. —Nov. 19 — Bryant-Bey is scheduled to be executed
Re: Gregory Bryant-Bey « Reply #9 on Nov 19, 2008, 1:39pm »
Strickland denies killer's clemency request
The Associated Press • November 18, 2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The U.S. Supreme Court was considering Tuesday whether to postpone Wednesday's scheduled execution of an Ohio death row inmate who killed a collectibles store owner in 1992.
Gregory Bryant-Bey, 53, said he was denied adequate legal representation at his clemency hearing last month. He's asked the high court for a 60-day reprieve to gather additional material to present to Gov. Ted Strickland as part of a clemency request.
He made a similar request to Strickland Nov. 12, but the governor on Tuesday rejected it.
Strickland said in a one-page statement denying Bryant-Bey clemency that he made his decision after reviewing all the materials in the case.
Among Bryant-Bey's arguments to the governor: Strickland is supporting a Tennessee death row inmate's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on a similar clemency issue.
Bryant-Bey's lawyers said a state public defender was assigned full- time to his clemency case only 10 days before the hearing last month.
A clemency hearing "requires a much more fact-intensive, broad investigation than a typical trial investigation, " said Carol Wright, Bryant-Bey's federal public defender.
The Ohio Parole Board on Oct. 22 unanimously recommended that Strickland deny clemency.
A U.S. District Court judge and the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati have both denied Bryant-Bey's request for a reprieve.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Jan. 12 in a case asking whether poor death row inmates seeking mercy from state officials have a right to lawyers paid for by federal taxpayers.
Bryant-Bey argues that he should receive a delay in his execution at least until the high court rules on that case.
The case before the U.S. Supreme Court is that of Edward Jerome Harbison of Tennessee, who was convicted in the 1983 beating death of an elderly woman in Chattanooga.
Harbison asked in 2006 to expand the responsibilities of his federal public defenders to also represent him in state clemency proceedings if he lost his court challenges.
The Justice Department argues there is no constitutional right either to clemency itself or to lawyers to pursue it.
Bryant-Bey notes that Strickland joined other current and former governors in a Sept. 15 court filing supporting Harbison's argument.
"As explained in this brief, defense counsel play a critical role in ensuring that Governors have all the information they need to fulfill their responsibility to make clemency decisions," the Sept. 15 filing said.
The filing is not directly related to Bryant-Bey's case in that it specifically addressed federal funding of lawyers in clemency cases.
Bryant-Bey arrived at the death house at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville Tuesday morning. He requested a special meal to be served Tuesday afternoon of three pieces of fried chicken, spaghetti with meat sauce, potato salad, cherry pie with strawberry ice cream and cola to drink.
He was sentenced to death for the Aug. 9, 1992 stabbing death of Toledo collectibles store owner Dale Pinkelman in a robbery. He also was convicted in the Nov. 2, 1992, killing of Peter Mihas, owner of The Board Room restaurant in downtown Toledo.
After police arrested Bryant-Bey for Mihas' death, similarities between the two crimes led to charges in Pinkelman's slaying.
A jury recommended life in prison for Bryant-Bey in the Mihas killing.
Two of Pinkelman's sons-in-law, Donald Clark and Stephen Ujvabi, were scheduled to witness the execution Wednesday.
Re: Gregory Bryant-Bey « Reply #10 on Nov 19, 2008, 2:12pm »
Killer executed for stabbing Toledo store owner in 1992 By Andrew Welsh-Huggins Associated Press
POSTED: 11:38 a.m. EST, Nov 19, 2008
LUCASVILLE: Ohio today executed a man for the 1992 stabbing death of a collectibles store owner in Toledo, the state's second execution in as many months.
Gregory Bryant-Bey, 53, died by lethal injection at 10:41 a.m. at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville.
In a three-minute final statement, Bryant-Bey said he'd been framed, convicted on the basis of false evidence and had had poor legal help.
''My brothers and sisters, what can be done to prevent sisters and brothers from being framed?'' he said.
Bryant-Bey's execution proceeded after the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied his request for a 60-day reprieve. He had wanted more time to present additional information about his case to Gov. Ted Strickland, who denied clemency Tuesday.
Bryant-Bey was the second inmate put to death in Ohio since the end of an unofficial national moratorium on executions that began last year while the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed Kentucky's lethal injection procedure.
Bryant-Bey was convicted in the Aug. 9, 1992, robbery and killing of Dale Pinkelman, who owned a sports collectibles and coin shop.
He also faced a death penalty in the Nov. 2, 1992, killing of Peter Mihas, owner of The Board Room restaurant in downtown Toledo.
After police arrested Bryant-Bey for Mihas' death, similarities between the two crimes led to charges in Pinkelman's slaying.
A jury recommended life in prison for Bryant-Bey in the Mihas killing.
Re: Gregory Bryant-Bey « Reply #11 on Nov 19, 2008, 2:31pm »
Killer clutches rosary, says he was framed at execution Wednesday, November 19, 2008 10:50 AM By Alan Johnson
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Associated Press Gregory Bryant-BeyLUCASVILLE, Ohio - Double-murderer Gregory Bryant-Bey of Toledo was executed this morning for a crime he committed 16 years ago.
Bryant-Bey, 53, of Toledo, was lethally injected at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville, drawing his last shallow breath just before 10:41 a.m. He was the second Ohioan put to death this year and the 28th since the state resumed capital punishment in 1999.
"My heart was seeking a sense of fairness and a dose of justice, but it was not to be," Bryant-Bey said, his last words as he lie on the lethal injection table, clutching a rosary.
He also made an extensive statement claiming he was framed "based on false evidence" by Lucas County law enforcement officials. He read his final words from a hand-written two page statement.
Bryant-Bey was convicted for the stabbing deaths of Dale "Pinky" Pinkelman, 47, and Pete Mihas, 61, during a three-month span in 1992. He was sentenced to death for Pinkelman's murder, but got life in prison for the Mihas killing.
His guilt was easily established in both cases. Still, Bryant-Bey's attorneys had urged Strickland to spare his life, arguing he was twice abandoned as a child by his birth mother, was neglected and beaten by his adoptive mother, and never met his real father. As a child, he had just two emotions, "fear and anger," they said.
Strickland rejected clemency yesterday afternoon and the U.S. Supreme Court turned down his appeal late last night.
Pinkelman, a father of six, was found stabbed in the chest in his Toledo collectibles shop on Aug. 9, 1992. Mihas, a Greek immigrant who owned the Board Room restaurant in Toledo, was murdered, also with a knife, in the parking lot of his business about three months later.
In both cases, Bryant-Bey robbed the businesses, but did not take the men's personal jewelry. However, he removed the victim's pants and left their shoes neatly arranged beside the bodies. http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/loc....ey.html?sid=101
Re: Gregory Bryant-Bey « Reply #12 on Nov 20, 2008, 12:24pm »
Article published Wednesday, November 19, 2008 ULTIMATE PRICE Ohio executes Bryant-Bey for 1992 North Toledo murder
By JIM PROVANCE BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF
LUCASVILLE, Ohio — Gregory Bryant-Bey was pronounced dead at 10:41 a.m. Wednesday, paying the ultimate price for the 1992 robbery killing of North Toledo merchant Dale Pinkelman.
A trio of chemicals first sedated him and then paralyzed him and induced cardiac arrest.
He spent the final hours of his life visiting with numerous relatives, talking with his son for nearly two hours on the telephone, and writing notes to unknown persons.
All court appeals had been exhausted and Gov. Ted Strickland had denied his request to commute his sentence to life in prison without parole. Bryant-Bey, 53, was the 28th inmate executed since Ohio resumed carrying out the death penalty in 1999.
On Tuesday night, he visited personally with family members in his cell at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility Tuesday night. He retired for the night midnight, falling asleep at about 1:46 a.m.
“This has been a very emotional time for his family members, in particular his daughters,’’ said Andrea Carson, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. “Last night was very emotional for them as well as his sister. His brothers, I think it would be fair to say, have been a source of strength for the rest of the family.’’
She described Bryant-Bey as continuing to be “laidback’’ and “easygoing.’’
He was awakened shortly after 6 a.m. He declined the breakfast that was offered to all the other inmates and resumed meeting with members of his family. This time, however, they were separated, able only to touch hands through a hole in his cell door.
The U.S. Supreme Court had turned down his final appeal Tuesday night.
Bryant-Bey was sentenced to death for the Aug. 9, 1992 stabbing of Mr. Pinkelman, owner of Pinky’s Collectibles in the New Towne Square strip mall in North Toledo.
He was also sentenced to life in prison for the similar robbery murder nearly three months later of Pete Mihas, owner of The Board Room restaurant in downtown Toledo.
Two of Mr. Pinkelman’s sons-in-law, Jay Clark and Stephen Ujvagi, witnessed the execution as did Bryant- Bey’s Detroit brother, Elton Williamson; Rachel Troutman, an assistant state public defender; Carol Wright, of the federal public defender’s office; and Stephen Sparling, his spiritual advisor .
Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade. com, or 614-221-0496.
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