Wednesday, a federal appeals court said it would not stop Darryl Barwick from being put to death on May 3 for stabbing a Bay County woman to death in 1986.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals turned down Barwick’s request to stop the execution.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle refused a stay, so Barwick’s lawyers went to the appeals court in Atlanta.
The lawyers have said that the execution shouldn’t happen because Barwick didn’t get a fair state mercy hearing, which went against his right to due process. But in a 14-page ruling released Wednesday, the appeals court didn’t agree.
Part of the decision by Judges Charles Wilson, Robin Rosenbaum, and Jill Pryor said, “Here, Barwick says that the state violated his right to due process because it didn’t give any rules for how the clemency decision would be made.” “But based on our law, we can’t agree that the Due Process Clause requires the state to set such standards.
On April 4, Gov. Ron DeSantis put Barwick, who is now 56, on death row for killing Rebecca Wendt.
Court papers say that Wendt was found wrapped in a blanket in her Panama City flat. She had been stabbed 37 times.
The lawyers for Barwick are also asking the Florida Supreme Court to stop the execution for other legal reasons.
