# Rocky Barton
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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Barton
> Source revision: 1341633276
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{{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](/source/Butler_County%2C_Ohio), U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2006|7|12|1956|7|28}}
| death_place = [Southern Ohio Correctional Facility](/source/Southern_Ohio_Correctional_Facility), Ohio, U.S.
| alias =
| conviction = '''Kentucky'''
[Attempted murder](/source/Attempted_murder)
[Theft](/source/Theft)
'''Ohio'''
[Aggravated murder](/source/Aggravated_murder)
[Having weapon under disability](/source/Criminal_possession_of_a_weapon)
[Domestic violence](/source/Domestic_violence)
[Driving under the influence](/source/Driving_under_the_influence) (3 counts)
| conviction_penalty = '''Kentucky'''
15 years imprisonment
[Theft](/source/Theft)
'''Ohio'''
[Death](/source/Capital_punishment_in_Ohio) (October 10, 2003)
| conviction_status = [Executed by lethal injection](/source/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](/source/Ohio) on July 12, 2006, for the murder of his fourth wife, 43-year-old Kimbirli Jo Barton, at their home in [Waynesville, Ohio](/source/Waynesville%2C_Ohio). Convicted on October 10, 2003, Barton spent almost three years on death row.[{{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 }}]
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.[{{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}}] At trial, Barton admitted to the [murder](/source/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.[{{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}}]
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](/source/Lebanon%2C_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](/source/List_of_legal_terms) to the [Ohio Supreme Court](/source/Ohio_Supreme_Court), but on October 4, 2004, Barton filed a ''[pro se](/source/pro_se)'' motion to withdraw appeal and waive counsel. The [Ohio Supreme Court](/source/Ohio_Supreme_Court) held [oral argument](/source/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.
== See also ==
* [List of people executed in Ohio](/source/List_of_people_executed_in_Ohio)
* [List of people executed in the United States in 2006](/source/List_of_people_executed_in_the_United_States_in_2006)
* [Volunteer (capital punishment)](/source/Volunteer_(capital_punishment))
== 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](/source/Capital_punishment_in_Ohio)
{{s-bef|before=[Joseph Lewis Clark](/source/Joseph_Lewis_Clark)|before2=May 2, 2006
}}
{{s-ttl|title=Rocky Barton|years=July 12, 2006}}
{{s-aft|after=Darrell Ferguson|after2=August 8, 2006
}}
|-
! colspan="3" | [Executions carried out in the United States](/source/Capital_punishment_in_the_United_States)
{{s-bef|before=[Sean Derrick O'Brien](/source/Murders_of_Jennifer_Ertman_and_Elizabeth_Pe%C3%B1a) – [Texas](/source/Capital_punishment_in_Texas)|before2=July 11, 2006
}}
{{s-ttl|title=Rocky Barton – [Ohio](/source/Capital_punishment_in_Ohio)|years=July 12, 2006}}
{{s-aft|after=[William Downs Jr.](/source/Murder_of_Keenan_O'Mailia) – [South Carolina](/source/Capital_punishment_in_South_Carolina)|after2=July 14, 2006
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{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
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rocky Barton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Barton) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Barton?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.