Missouri Murderer Facing Execution

A Missouri man convicted of the brutal 1991 sexual assault and murder of an 81-year-old woman is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection today. On Sunday, the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals lifted a stay that a district court judge ordered last Friday.  The appeals court noted that after two mistrials, a trial and conviction that was reversed and remanded by the Missouri Supreme Court, and a second trial and conviction that was later vacated, Walter Barton was convicted after his fifth trial for murder in the first degree. The Associated Press reports that Barton has maintained his innocence throughout and that the findings of an expert hired after his trial by his defense attorneys led three jurors to tell reporters that they would have been uncomfortable recommending a death sentence.  UPDATE: Barton died peacefully via lethal injection Tuesday evening.

Despite these allegations, the evidence of Barton’s guilt is substantial. Witnesses put Barton at the home of the elderly victim at the time of the murder, and he lied about why he was there. After the murder, Barton returned to a friend’s trailer nearby and immediately washed up in the bathroom, claiming that he had been working on his car. DNA testing identified the victim’s blood on Barton’s shirt, and while a blood spatter expert hired after the trial estimated that there should have been more blood on the shirt after stabbing the woman 50 times, there was no legitimate explanation for her blood being on his clothes. As documented in the Missouri Supreme Court decision on direct appeal, Barton had a reputation for violence against women. In 1976 he was convicted with assault with intent to kill and served six years for an attack on a female convenience store clerk. One month after his release on parole, Barton attacked another female convenience store clerk, beating her severely.  He was convicted of first-degree assault and sent back to prison. The NAACP and Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty submitted 5,000 signatures to the state’s governor urging him to grant clemency. The AP story notes that Barton’s execution is set to go forward despite concerns about the Coronavirus which has led other states to postpone lethal injections.