Toledo killer breathes his last
By Alan Johnson
The Columbus Dispatch
LUCASVILLE, Ohio — A few minutes after Gregory Bryant-Bey was executed yesterday, Jay Clark, the son-in-law of one of his victims, offered his perspective.
“This is a difficult day,” Clark said. “There aren’t any winners on either side.”
What was satisfied, however, was Ohio law, which was carried out when the double-murderer was pronounced dead at 10:41 a.m. at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility.
Bryant-Bey, 53, the second Ohioan executed in a little more than month, paid the ultimate penalty for killing Dale “Pinky” Pinkelman, 47, owner of a Toledo collectibles store, on Aug. 9, 1992. He also was convicted for the stabbing death of restaurant owner Pete Mihas, 61, three months later, but he received a life sentence in that case.
“We’re thankful this event brings closure to the senseless murders of Dale Pinkelman and Pete Mihas,” Clark said, calling the victims “brave, hardworking family men. ... We’ll cherish the memories we have and the lessons they taught us.”
But with his last breaths, Bryant-Bey protested that he was framed by Lucas County prosecutors, lawyers and law-enforcement investigators. He said they used “invisible evidence” to trump up a conviction and obtain the death penalty.
After the lethal-injection shunts were inserted into both arms, Bryant-Bey, clutching a rosary, entered the Death Chamber at 10:22 a.m. He smiled and made a two-finger peace sign to his half brother, the Rev. Elton Williamson; public defender Rachel Troutman; and his spiritual adviser, Stephen Sparling, all of whom witnessed the execution from behind glass about 10 feet away.
He repeatedly mouthed a question to his brother and attorney that was inaudible to media witnesses (which included The Dispatch). However, his brother later said he was asking, “Where’s Darlene?” in reference to his sister, Darlene Hines, who he expected was going to witness his death. She did not attend.
Calm and smiling frequently, Bryant-Bey lifted his head off the table to read his last words, a two-page statement handwritten on lined paper that was held in front of him by a corrections officer.
“My heart was just seeking a sense of fairness and a dose of justice, but it was not to be.”
He concluded: “My heart calls out to God, ‘Come get me on the double.’ ”
The toxic chemicals began flowing through tubes into Bryant-Bey’s veins about 10:30 a.m. Two minutes later, he blinked several times and his mouth gaped open. After that, he lay motionless. His eyes remained partially open as he died.
The curtain to the chamber was drawn closed at 10:40 a.m., prompting deep sobs from Williamson, pastor of the Increased Ship of Zion Church in Detroit.
Williamson was composed when he spoke later to reporters.
“This was not punishment. This was murder,” he said. “The same thing that he was convicted of, the state of Ohio did to him.”
Williamson said his conversations with his younger brother in recent days focused on “living the life after this one.”
“I’m sad, but at the same time I’m proud of my brother. ... He went bravely.”
Williamson said Bryant-Bey told him he was innocent. “He looked at me right in the eyes and said he didn’t do that, and I believed it.”
Nevertheless, his guilt was easily established in both cases. Bryant-Bey’s attorneys had urged Gov. Ted Strickland to spare his life, arguing that 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.
Strickland turned down the condemned man’s clemency request Tuesday afternoon and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal later that night.
Copyright 2008 The Columbus Dispatch