Rocky Barton died by lethal injection at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility at Lucasville.

Rocky Barton died by lethal injection at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility at Lucasville.
Barton, 49, was executed for the murder of his wife, Kimberly Barton, on Jan. 16, 2003.
Barton said he deserved to die and gave up his appeals that could have delayed his execution for years. He had been on death row for less than 3 years, the shortest term from conviction to execution in modern times.
Barton has been the first person executed in Ohio using new injection guidelines adopted after the last execution was plagued with problems. His veins were closely examined several times before the execution. The state's lethal injection protocol was changed after Joseph Clark's execution in May, which was held up 90 minutes when prison staff struggled to find a viable vein and one they used collapsed.
The state now requires staff to make every effort to find 2 injection sites and use a new method to make sure the veins stay open once entryways are inserted. 
Barton becomes the 3rd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Ohio, the 27th in the USA, and the 1031st overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.