Rocky Barton

{{Short description|American murderer (1956–2006)}} {{Use American English|date=December 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox criminal | image_name = Rocky Barton.jpg | name = Rocky Barton | image_caption = Mugshot of Rocky Barton | birth_date = {{Birth date|1956|7|28}} | birth_place = Butler County, Ohio, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2006|7|12|1956|7|28}} | death_place = Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, Ohio, U.S. | alias = | conviction = '''Kentucky'''<br>Attempted murder<br>Theft<br>'''Ohio'''<br>Aggravated murder<br>Having weapon under disability<br>Domestic violence<br>Driving under the influence (3 counts) | conviction_penalty = '''Kentucky'''<br>15 years imprisonment<br>Theft<br>'''Ohio'''<br>Death (October 10, 2003) | conviction_status = Executed by lethal injection | occupation = Construction worker | spouse = Kimbirli Jo Barton (deceased) | parents = | children = }} '''Rocky Lee Barton''' (July 28, 1956 – July 12, 2006) was executed by the State of Ohio on July 12, 2006, for the murder of his fourth wife, 43-year-old Kimbirli Jo Barton, at their home in Waynesville, Ohio. Convicted on October 10, 2003, Barton spent almost three years on death row.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www4.vindy.com/content/local_regional/321776577310199.php |title=State executes man who killed wife |access-date=August 8, 2013 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402090516/http://www4.vindy.com/content/local_regional/321776577310199.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Kimbirli and Barton had gotten in a domestic dispute the morning of January 16, 2003, and she was returning home to gather her belongings in order to move out, when Barton ambushed her by making sure the gate to the driveway was locked behind her. Barton then appeared and shot Kimbirli once in the shoulder, then in the back with a shotgun. Barton's uncle and 17-year-old daughter witnessed the shooting.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/07/12/ohio.execution/ |title=Killer who dropped appeals is executed |date=July 12, 2006 |work=CNN |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119144428/http://edition.cnn.com/2006/LAW/07/12/ohio.execution/ |archive-date=January 19, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> At trial, Barton admitted to the murder and told the jury that he deserved to die. Barton had a history of violence against women. On January 4, 1991, Barton attempted to murder his ex-wife Brenda Johnson in Kentucky. He beat her over the head with a shotgun until she passed out, tied her feet with electrical tape and her hands with an electrical cord, forced her to take several pills and lick the blood off his hands and clothes, ransacked her house, and then stabbed her three times in the back and cut her throat before leaving her for dead. Barton was convicted of attempted murder and theft and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was paroled in 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-06-19 |title=IN RE: ROCKY BARTON, MANCI #A457-297 |url=https://drc.ohio.gov/wps/wcm/connect/gov/2218421e-47d7-4aa5-87b3-69e9e633d554/CLEMENCY+ROCKY+BARTON.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CONVERT_TO=url&CACHEID=ROOTWORKSPACE.Z18_K9I401S01H7F40QBNJU3SO1F56-2218421e-47d7-4aa5-87b3-69e9e633d554-obcigne |website=Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction}}</ref>

Rocky Barton also attempted to take his own life, but only succeeded in blowing off the lower half of his face. The State paid for his facial surgeries, which left him unrecognizable and required wearing a partial mask on his face. While awaiting trial, Rocky Barton was held in the Warren County Jail in Lebanon, Ohio. Due to the mask, he was referred to as "Darth Vader." At one time in particular, Rocky Barton and Kimberli's ex-husband were incarcerated at the Warren County Jail at the same time. The two were never held in the same pod.

Two months after his sentence, Barton filed his notice of direct appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court, but on October 4, 2004, Barton filed a ''pro se'' motion to withdraw appeal and waive counsel. The Ohio Supreme Court held oral argument in September 2005 and in October 2005 Barton filed another ''pro se'' motion to waive all review of his conviction. He opted not to apply for executive clemency.

Barton had worked as a construction laborer and horse trainer and had served time in prison before the murder. He admitted his parents' divorce, drug and alcohol use, as well as problems with depression and anxiety, had influenced his life.

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * [http://www.courttv.com/facing_death/rocky_barton/interview_ctv.html?page=3 Death Row interview] * [http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/barton1031.htm Rocky Lee Barton - Executed July 12, 2006 10:27 a.m. by Lethal Injection in Ohio]

{{s-start}} ! colspan="3" | Executions carried out in Ohio {{s-bef|before=Joseph Lewis Clark|before2=<div style="font-weight: normal">May 2, 2006</div>}} {{s-ttl|title=Rocky Barton|years=July 12, 2006}} {{s-aft|after=Darrell Ferguson|after2=<div style="font-weight: normal">August 8, 2006</div>}} |- ! colspan="3" | Executions carried out in the United States {{s-bef|before=Sean Derrick O'Brien – Texas|before2=<div style="font-weight: normal">July 11, 2006</div>}} {{s-ttl|title=Rocky Barton – Ohio|years=July 12, 2006}} {{s-aft|after=William Downs Jr. – South Carolina|after2=<div style="font-weight: normal">July 14, 2006</div>}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Rocky}} Category:1956 births Category:2006 deaths Category:2003 murders in the United States Category:21st-century executions of American people Category:21st-century executions by Ohio Category:American people convicted of attempted murder Category:American people convicted of theft Category:American people executed for murder Category:People from Butler County, Ohio Category:People from Waynesville, Ohio Category:Executed people from Ohio Category:People convicted of domestic violence Category:People convicted of murder by Ohio Category:People executed by Ohio by lethal injection Category:Prisoners and detainees of Kentucky Category:Uxoricides in the United States Category:Violence against women in Kentucky Category:Violence against women in Ohio