James Barnes

James Phillip Barnes (March 7, 1962 – August 3, 2023) was an American murderer and self-identified serial killer who was executed by the state of Florida for the 1988 rape and murder of Patricia Miller.

In 2012, Barnes was featured in the first episode of Werner Herzog's television series On Death Row, in which he was interviewed in 2010 by Herzog at Florida State Prison. He then sent Herzog a written confession to the unsolved murders of Chester Wetmore and Brenda Fletcher in 1986 and 1991, respectively. He was not charged in either case.

Early life James Phillip Barnes was born on March 7, 1962. He was one of five siblings and had a twin sister, Jeannice. His younger brother Michael committed suicide. It is unknown where exactly Barnes was born, but he referred to his home as Maryland. A medical examiner later determined that Miller had died from blunt-force trauma to the head and had been killed before the fire was started. According to investigators, Barnes did not know Miller, and her murder went unsolved. On December 12, sheriff's deputies arrested Barnes at the house and he was charged with Linda's murder.

Trial and revelation On January 9, 1998, Barnes pleaded guilty to murdering Linda and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The death penalty was waived.

In 2005, Barnes, who had converted to Islam, confessed to the unsolved murder of Patricia Miller while fasting during Ramadan. Barnes sent a letter to the assistant state attorney confessing to the crime. In 1997, DNA evidence was matched to Barnes, and he had been questioned in the case. At the time, he had refused to talk with Brevard County authorities. No charges were filed until an indictment was issued by a Brevard County grand jury. In the letter, Barnes told prosecutors that he wanted to clear his conscience. Barnes said in the letter, "I murdered her [Patricia Miller] so [there] would be no witness or complaint against me."

Imprisonment

In 2010, Barnes was interviewed at Florida State Prison by German filmmaker Werner Herzog as part of his television series On Death Row. Six weeks later, Barnes sent a letter to Herzog confessing to the unsolved murders of Chester Wetmore and Brenda Fletcher. He said that he wished to resolve the unresolved crimes he committed before he died. Barnes claimed that in 1988 Wetmore had stolen his belongings from his car, so Barnes killed Wetmore with a shotgun. He and two accomplices then buried Wetmore's body.

The interview with Barnes aired in 2012 as part of the series premiere. It included an interview with his twin sister Jeannice Barnes, but their father declined to be filmed and asked Herzog to tell his son: "One, I love him. Two, I hate the crimes he committed." His older sister Beth Catron wanted the execution to proceed and said of her brother's impending execution, "Our family is glad the nightmare will soon be over, and maybe we'll be able to sleep in peace."

At a hearing on June 27, 2023, Barnes stated his acceptance of responsibility for his crimes and asked to proceed to his execution without any delay.

On August 3, 2023, Barnes was executed via lethal injection at Florida State Prison, at age 61. He was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. He declined to eat a last meal, receive visitors, or give a final statement.