A federal appeals court Wednesday refused to block the scheduled May 3 execution of Darryl Barwick for the stabbing death of a Bay County woman in 1986.
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Barwick’s motion for a stay of execution. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle last week denied a stay, leading Barwick’s attorneys to go to the Atlanta-based appeals court.
The attorneys have argued that the execution should be blocked because Barwick did not receive a fair state clemency proceeding, violating his due-process rights. But in a 14-page opinion Wednesday, the appeals court turned down the arguments.
“Here, Barwick argues that the state violated his due-process rights because it did not provide any standards that would govern the clemency decision,” part of the ruling by Judges Charles Wilson, Robin Rosenbaum and Jill Pryor said. “But under our binding precedent, we cannot agree that the Due Process Clause requires the state to provide any such standards.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis on April 4 signed a death warrant for Barwick, now 56, in the murder of Rebecca Wendt. Wendt was found wrapped in a comforter in her Panama City apartment and had been stabbed 37 times, according to court documents.
Barwick’s attorneys also are asking the Florida Supreme Court to block the execution on different legal grounds.
