Concerning our confessing defendant:
 
Wouldn't the following be the "natural" expression?
 
        The jury was shocked to hear the defendant confess that the murder was
none other than he himself.
 
Sure, this is much longer than some of the suggested revisions, but it
is a "periodic" construction saving the crucial information for the very
end for purposes of suspense and emphasis. The "he" is necessary because
the nominative case pronoun is called for, and the "himself" is
necessary for the propoer emphasis.
 
Norm Carlson
Western Michgan U.