The pause in U.S. executions during the coronavirus pandemic likely will end Tuesday with the scheduled lethal injection of a Missouri inmate for slaying an elderly woman nearly three decades ago.
Walter Barton, 64, would be the first person executed in the U.S. since Nathaniel Woods was put to death in Alabama on March 5. Soon after that, efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus shut down the U.S. economy and led to strict limits on social distancing, including inside prisons. Three states have put aside executions over the past 2 1/2 months.Republican Missouri Gov.
Other states, including Ohio, Tennessee and Texas, have postponed executions after attorneys argued that pandemic-related closures prevented them from securing records or conducting interviews for clemency petitions and court appeals. Missouri Department of Corrections spokeswoman Karen Pojmann said everyone entering the prison will have their temperatures checked and will be offered face coverings. Witnesses will be divided into three rooms. Those witnesses include an Associated Press reporter and other journalists and state witnesses, and people there to support Barton. No relatives or other supporters of the victim plan to attend, Pojmann said.
In recent court filings, Barton's attorney, Fred Duchardt Jr., cited the findings of another blood spatter expert. Lawrence Renner examined Barton's clothing and boots and concluded the killer would have had far more blood stains.
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