 The 6th Circuit endorsed the magistrate's 171-page report of the week-long evidentiary hearing and rejected the habeas claim.Subsequent appeals to the state and federal appellate courts on a number of other issues and review by the United States Supreme Court were ultimately unsuccessful, although they did postpone the execution.On March 15, 1995, Byrd came within 45 minutes of execution before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overruled Ohio Supreme Court's decision to allow the state to carry out the sentence.