Florida inmate James Phillip Barnes forgoes last meal before execution
James Phillip Barnes was already in prison for the killing of his wife when he confessed to the killing of a nurse
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}James Phillip Barnes, a Florida death row inmate executed Thursday for the brutal 1988 killing of a nurse he beat with a hammer, forwent the customary last meal hours before he was pronounced dead, state corrections officials said.
The Florida Department of Corrections told Fox News Digital that Barnes declined to request the meal. State law allows inmates to request a last meal, which must be purchased locally and costs no more than $40.
Barnes, 61, died by lethal injection at 6:31 p.m. local time at the Florida State Prison in Starke. It was Florida's fifth execution of the year.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He was serving a life sentence for the 1997 strangulation of his wife, Linda Barnes, 44, when he wrote to a state prosecutor in 2005 claiming responsibility for the killing of Patricia "Patsy" Miller.
MISSOURI DEATH ROW INMATE WHO KIDNAPPED, KILLED 6-YEAR-OLD GIRL, EATS LAST MEAL
James Phillip Barnes is set to be executed Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023 after dropping all appeals in the 1988 slaying of a woman who was sexually assaulted and beaten to death with a hammer, her body set ablaze in her own bed. (Florida Department of Corrections)
Miller was a nurse who lived in a Melbourne, Florida, condominium and had some negative interactions with him prior to her murder.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"There were several events that happened (with Miller). I felt terribly humiliated, that’s all I can say," Barnes said in the jailhouse interview with German film director Werner Herzog.
Barnes killed Miller inside her home on April 20, 1988, and admitted in court to raping her twice and hit her in the head with a hammer and set her bed on fire.
Barnes killed his wife in 1997, after she discovered that he was dealing drugs. Her body was found stuffed in a closet after she was strangled, court records show. Barnes has claimed to have killed at least two other people but has never been charged in those cases.
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In the jailhouse interview, Barnes said he converted to Islam and wanted to clear his conscience about the Miller case during the holy month of Ramadan.
"They say I’m remorseless. I’m not. There are no more questions on this case. And I’m going to be executed," Barnes said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Associated Press contributed to this report.