Missouri executes Walter Barton

A Missouri man convicted in the 1991 killing of his former landlord was executed Tuesday evening, becoming the first death row inmate to die in the United States since the coronavirus outbreak was declared a global pandemic in early March.

The ACLU confirmed the execution.

Walter Barton, 64, died by lethal injection in a state prison in Bonne Terre, south of St. Louis, Missouri corrections officials said. His last words were: “I, Walter ‘Arkie’ Barton, am innocent and they are executing an innocent man!!”

Despite pleas in recent days from supporters and his defense team calling into question whether he was wrongly convicted of murder, Gov. Mike Parson said Monday he would not stop the execution.

Other states, including Ohio, Tennessee and Texas, have postponed scheduled executions while corrections officials handle the deepening health crisis, which has overwhelmed many correctional facilities across the country.

Barton had been tried five times for the murder of Gladys Kuehler, 81, who operated a mobile home park south of Springfield, Missouri.

RELATED | Missouri Governor Mike Parson: Execution of Walter Barton “will move forward as scheduled”

Barton, a former tenant of Kuehler's, was living out of his car and reportedly visited Kuehler's granddaughter and a neighbor at the property on the night she was beaten, sexually assaulted and stabbed 52 times.

RELATED | Court clears way for Tuesday execution of Missouri man who claims innocence in murder

While blood was found on Barton's clothing, he maintained his innocence at each of his trials. His case has lingered in the court system over the decades because of mistrials and appeals. A fifth trial in 2006 ended in a guilty verdict and a death sentence.

On Sunday, a federal appeals court vacated Barton's petition for post-conviction relief that might have delayed his execution. The court ruled that there was no new evidence.

But in recent weeks, Barton's attorney, Frederick Duchardt Jr., got affidavits from three jurors who had convicted Barton to agree that they now have doubts about his guilty verdict.

At the heart of the case has been whether the prosecution's blood spatter evidence — a form of forensic analysis that has been questioned in recent years over its accuracy — was properly countered by Barton's defense team at his 2006 trial.

RELATED | USA | The First Execution of the Pandemic

Since then, Barton's current defense team ordered an independent bloodstain analysis.

According to the examiner, the small bloodstains on Barton's clothing were consistent with his version of events that night and that the actual killer's clothes would have been soaked in blood, given the victim's wounds.

The Innocence Project and others had attempted to stop the execution, citing unreliable evidence and concerns over how previous state prosecutors have handled convictions of inmates later cleared of their crimes.

Barton's execution was the first in the U.S. since March 5, when Alabama inmate Nate Woods was executed for his role in the fatal shootings of three Birmingham police officers in 2004.

Given the coronavirus outbreak, corrections officials in Missouri said they had to consider precautionary measures involved with planning an execution, including submitting prison visitors to temperature checks and dividing them into three separate rooms for social distancing.

Barton becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Missouri, and the 90th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1989. Only Texas (569), Virginia (113), Oklahoma (112), and Florida (99) have carried out more executions since the death penalty was re-legalized on July 2, 1976.

Barton becomes the 6th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1,518th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 2, 1977.

Source: nbcnews.com, Erik Ortiz; Rick Halperin, May 20, 2020

Missouri executes first US inmate put to death during coronavirus pandemic

(CNN) -- Missouri carried out the first execution in the country Tuesday since the rapid escalation of the coronavirus outbreak in the US.

Walter Barton was executed Tuesday by the state of Missouri at Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC).

Barton, 64, had been found guilty in 2006 of the 1991 murder of an 81-year old acquaintance, according to court documents. He had maintained his innocence throughout. After multiple trials and appeals, the US Supreme Court denied Barton's request for a stay Tuesday.

Barton was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. CDT, according to the DOC.

The last execution to take place in the US was on March 5 in Alabama, according to Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.

At that time there were 161 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country and 11 deaths from the disease, according to CNN's reporting of cases and fatalities from that date. As of Tuesday evening there were at least 1,528,568 coronavirus cases in the US and at least 91,921 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

At the correctional center, witnesses to the execution were screened with temperature checks and were provided with face covers and hand sanitizer, said Karen Pojmann, communications director for the DOC.

The last execution at the Bonne Terre facility took place Oct. 1, 2019 and no other executions are currently scheduled, according to Pojmann.

CNN has reached out to Barton's attorney, Frederick A. Duchardt Jr., for comment.

"The last two executions in the United States, Nathaniel Woods on March 5 in Alabama and Walter Barton tonight in Missouri, are bookends to injustice. The last state to carry out an execution before the pandemic and the only state reckless enough to carry put an execution during the pandemic have almost certainly both executed innocent men," Dunham said.

Source: CNN, Chris Boyette, May 20, 2020

⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

Comments

Death penalty options expanded in proposed Arizona bills

PHOENIX — Arizona lawmakers advanced proposals on Feb. 19, 2026, that would expand execution options for death row inmates to include firing squads and lethal gas, amid ongoing challenges with lethal injection and concerns over carrying out capital sentences. The measures, sponsored by Sen. Kevin Payne, R-Peoria, cleared a Senate committee with a party-line vote. They aim to give condemned inmates more choices while mandating firing squad executions for those convicted of murdering law enforcement officers. Senate Concurrent Resolution 1049 proposes a constitutional amendment that Arizona voters would decide in November. If approved, it would allow defendants sentenced to death to select from three methods: firing squad, lethal injection (intravenous administration of lethal substances) or lethal gas. Lethal injection would remain the default if no choice is made.

Japan | High court rejects retrial appeal over 1992 Fukuoka child murder

The Fukuoka High Court rejected an appeal on Monday for a retrial for the 1992 murder of two 7-year-old girls in the city of Iizuka in Fukuoka Prefecture, for which a death row convict was executed. The defense plans to file a special appeal with the Supreme Court against the decision. In what's known as the Iizuka incident, despite the assertion of his innocence, Michitoshi Kuma's death sentence became final in 2006 based on DNA test results and eyewitness accounts. He was executed at the age of 70 in 2008. The defendant's side submitted in the second round of its retrial request a woman's testimony as new evidence.

Florida | Governor DeSantis signs death warrant in 2008 murder case

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Michael L. King, setting an execution date of March 17, 2026, at 6 p.m. King was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2008 kidnapping, sexual battery and murder of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old North Port mother. On January 17, 2008, Michael Lee King abducted 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee from her North Port home by forcing her into his green Chevrolet Camaro. He drove her around while she was bound, including to his cousin's house to borrow tools like a shovel. King took her to his home, where he sexually battered her, then placed her in the backseat of his car. Later that evening, he drove to a remote area, shot her in the face, and buried her nude body in a shallow grave. Her remains were discovered two days later. During the crime, multiple 9-1-1 calls were made, but communication breakdowns between emergency dispatch centers delayed the response. The case drew national attention and prompted w...

Singapore executes 33-year-old Malaysian drug trafficker

Lingkesvaran was sentenced to death in 2018. A Malaysian man convicted of trafficking a significant quantity of heroin was executed in Singapore on Feb. 11, 2026, according to an official statement issued by the Singapore authorities. Lingkesvaran Rajendaren, 33, had been found guilty of trafficking not less than 52.77 grammes of diamorphine, also known as pure heroin. Singapore law mandates the death penalty for cases involving more than 15 grams of the drug. The authorities said the amount involved was enough to sustain the addiction of approximately 630 abusers for a week, highlighting the harm caused by large-scale drug trafficking.

Sudanese Courts Sentence 2 Women to Death by Stoning for Adultery Despite International Obligations

Two Sudanese women have been sentenced to death by stoning in separate cases in Sudan, raising serious concerns about Sudan’s compliance with its international human rights obligations, particularly following its ratification of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT).

India | POCSO Court awards death penalty to UP couple for sexual exploitation of 33 children

A special court in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda on Friday sentenced a former Junior Engineer (JE) of the Irrigation Department and his wife to death for the sexual exploitation of 33 minor boys — some as young as three — over a decade, officials said. The POCSO court termed the crimes as “rarest of rare” and held Ram Bhawan and his wife Durgawati guilty of systematically abusing children between 2010 and 2020 and producing child sexual abuse material. Convicting the duo under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the court sentenced them to death for offences including aggravated penetrative sexual assault, using a child for pornographic purposes, storage of pornographic material involving children, and abetment and criminal conspiracy, they said.

Idaho death row inmate convicted of two separate rapes and murders dies in hospital

Idaho – Erick Hall, a long-time death row inmate convicted of the rapes and murders of two women in separate incidents in the Boise area, has died at the age of 54. The Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) announced on February 10, 2026, that Hall passed away from natural causes at approximately 9:58 p.m. on February 9, 2026, while receiving care at a local hospital in the Boise region. Hall had been serving two death sentences for first-degree murder convictions stemming from crimes committed in the early 2000s. He was housed at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution (IMSI) in Kuna, where Idaho's death row is located. The first conviction came in October 2004 for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of 38-year-old Lynn Henneman. Henneman, a flight attendant, disappeared in October 2000 after leaving a Boise restaurant. Her body was later discovered, and the case went cold for several years until DNA evidence linked Hall to the crime. A jury sentenced him to death following a trial t...

Somalia Executes Two Al-Shabaab Convicts Over Deadly Mogadishu Attacks

MOGADISHU, Feb 16, 2026 – The Somali federal government on Monday executed two men convicted of orchestrating a series of deadly assassinations and bombings in the capital, judicial officials confirmed. The executions, carried out by a firing squad following sentences handed down by the Armed Forces Court, took place early Monday morning in Mogadishu. The two individuals were identified as Hassan Ali Iftin Buule (known as Gacmey) and Hassan Ali Ibrahim Mohamed Ahmed (known by the aliases Baari, Biibaaye, and Sa’ad). Both had been found guilty of participating in terror attacks that resulted in the death and injury of numerous Somali civilians.

Oklahoma executes Kendrick Antonio Simpson

McALESTER, Okla. (DPN) — Oklahoma executed Kendrick Antonio Simpson on Thursday for the 2006 drive-by shooting deaths of two men following a dispute at an Oklahoma City nightclub, marking the state's first lethal injection of the year and the nation's third. Simpson, 45, was pronounced dead at 10:19 a.m. at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary after receiving a three-drug cocktail, prison officials said. He had been convicted of first-degree murder in the killings of Anthony Jones, 19, and Glen Palmer, 20, who were shot while sitting in a car outside the club. Simpson admitted to firing into the vehicle, later telling authorities he was "compelled by paranoia."

Oklahoma | Judge weighs Richard Glossip's second request for bond

Attorneys for former death row inmate Richard Glossip are again asking an Oklahoma County judge to release him on bond while he awaits a third trial in a high-profile murder case that has stretched nearly three decades. District Judge Natalie Mai heard arguments for and against Glossip’s release in her courtroom Thursday, Feb. 12. Glossip, 63, has been twice convicted and sentenced to death for the 1997 killing of Oklahoma City hotel owner Barry Van Treese. Prosecutors claim Glossip paid another employee, Justin Sneed, to kill Van Treese, and helped cover up the murder.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog