 The board rejected Byrd's innocence claim, finding that John Brewer's post-trial confession that he, and not Byrd, was Tewksbury's killer "lacks any credibility whatsoever".Taft's decision was delayed by the last-minute habeas corpus decision and it would be seven months before he would weigh in on the issue.On February 16, 2002, Taft accepted the Board's recommendation and denied clemency.