Darryl B Barwick: Florida man executed for 1986 fatal stabbing of 24-year-old Rebecca Wendt
RAIFORD, FLORIDA: A Florida inmate was executed on Wednesday, May 3, for a crime he committed in 1986, just months after he was released from prison for rape. Darryl B Barwick, 56, was pronounced dead at 6.14 pm following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison. This happened after the US Supreme Court rejected Brawick's final appeal for a stay of execution earlier on Wednesday.
“I can’t explain why I did what I did. It’s time to apologize to the family ... I’m sorry," Barwick said after being brought into the death chamber The Associated Press reports. He also added that the state should be more generous to people, criticizing Florida’s sentencing of teenagers for life.
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At 6.02 pm, Barwick began receiving the sedative and closed his eyes several minutes later. To make sure he was unconscious before the execution, the warden checked Barwick’s eyes, shook his shoulders, and yelled his name. Even though Barwick did not meet his family members, he did speak with them by phone in recent days. Barwick's relatives or loved ones were not present to witness his execution.
What crime did Darryl B Barwick commit?
Barwick confessed to killing Rebecca Wendt, 24, in her Panama City apartment on March 31, 1986, after he watched her sunbath outside and then followed her back to her room. He said that he wanted to rob her but he killed her life as she resisted. Barwick reportedly stabbed Wendt 37 times. Officials said that it appeared as if someone unsuccessfully tried to remove Wendt's bathing suit. No evidence of sexual assault was found but medical examiners reported finding semen on a blanket where her body was found.
According to court records, Barwick murdered Wendt less than three months after he was released from prison for raping a 21-year-old woman at knifepoint. In his confession, Barwick said that he stabbed her because he did not want to go back to prison.
How was Darryl B Barwick caught?
Barwick later confessed to killing Wendt. Authorities also linked him to the semen stain, a witness who witnessed him heading toward and leaving Wendt’s apartment, and footprints left inside and outside the apartment.
Darryl B Barwick faced first-degree murder charges
He was convicted of first-degree murder, armed burglary, attempted sexual battery, and armed robbery in November 1986, and sentenced to death two months later on the jury’s 9-3 recommendation. In 1989 because of prosecutorial misconduct, the Florida Supreme Court threw out that conviction. Barwick was again convicted at his 1992 retrial, and that jury recommended death.
Darryl B Barwick's final meal
Before he was executed, Barwick enjoyed a final meal of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and ice cream. He was also given black-eyed peas with rice, cornbread, and cola, the Florida Department of Corrections said.