Former Justice Herb Brown marks his 93rd birthday with a new book — and a word to Ohio voters

By JULIE CARR SMYTH The Associated Press

Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Herb Brown celebrated his 93rd birthday on Friday with the release of his latest book — and a plug for democracy.

As he promoted “Darkness Lies in Wait,” Brown said he had fall elections on his mind.

“I would never tell anyone how to vote,” he said in a statement, “but I encourage voters to rely on good sources of information.”

Brown said his six years on the bench, from 1987 to 1992, taught him the importance of fair courts, and he hopes voters engage as three races that will determine partisan control of the Ohio Supreme Court are decided this November.

“Darkness Lies in Wait,” Brown’s third novel, is a psychological thriller inspired by a death penalty case the high court heard in 1990, for which Brown wrote the majority opinion. It involved David Brewer, a Middletown man with no criminal record and a gentle and friendly demeanor who was executed in 2003 for brutally murdering a good friend’s wife.

Brown has written seven plays — including “You’re My Boy,” which is set to be staged next year in the Columbus suburb of Dublin.

“Writing keeps me going,” he said. “But who knows for how long.”