BONNE TERRE, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri man has been put to death for fatally
stabbing an 81-year-old woman nearly three decades ago, the first U.S. execution
since the coronavirus pandemic took hold. Walter Barton was put to death by
lethal injection Tuesday. Barton had long maintained he was innocent of killing
Gladys Kuehler, and his case was tied up for years due to appeals, mistrials and
two overturned convictions. Concerns related to the coronavirus caused several
states to postpone or cancel executions over the past 2 1/2 months. Until
Tuesday, no one had been executed in the U.S. since Nathaniel Woods was put to
death in Alabama on March 5. Ohio, Tennessee and Texas were among states calling
off executions. Texas delayed six executions due to the pandemic.
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