Darryl Barwick's claims remain pending at SCOTUS on morning of scheduled execution.
The state plans to execute Barwick at 6:00 p.m. As of 7:00 a.m., Barwick's two petitions for writ of certiorari and two applications for stay of execution remain pending.
As of this post (7:00 a.m.), Darryl Barwick has two pending petitions for writ of certiorari and two applications for stay of execution at the U.S. Supreme Court, which is the last resort for relief from the execution scheduled tonight at 6:00 p.m.
Clemency-Related Claims
In the first-filed petition and application (No. 22-7412), Barwick seeks review of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit’s decision on his claims related to the clemency process. For more information on these claims, see
’s post here and my prior post with the questions presented in the petition here. Briefing on this petition was completed late Monday afternoon.State Postconviction Claims
In the second-filed petition and application (No. 22-7424, filed late Monday afternoon), Barwick seeks review of the Florida Supreme Court’s decision denying his final state court claims. The state’s response was filed on Tuesday afternoon. For more information on these claims see Florida Court Review’s post here and my post about the Court’s decision here.
Barwick’s reply was docketed around 10:00 p.m. last night—less than 24 hours before his execution is scheduled and just over 24 hours after the petition was filed at the Court.
What does this mean?
The Court’s ruling will either stay the execution or clear the way for the execution to proceed. As I’ve said before, this last-minute briefing in Barwick’s final claims for relief indicates an increased likelihood that tonight’s execution will be delayed past 6:00 p.m. It is also possible that the Court issues its rulings before 6:00 p.m. It is hard to tell. For both Dillbeck and Gaskin (the last two executions), the Court had ruled at least the day before the execution.
What happens when an execution is delayed?
So what happens when an execution is delayed? A delay past 6:00 p.m. won’t stop the execution. As the prior post on this topic explained, executions have been delayed past 6:00 p.m. before—some for several hours—waiting on the U.S. Supreme Court to rule.
If, for some reason, the execution does not occur tonight (i.e., Wednesday, May 3) and relief is not granted from the execution proceeding, there is still a week within which the execution can occur. The warrant itself designated “the week beginning at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, through 12:00 noon on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, for the execution.” Therefore, the Department of Corrections has until May 10, 2023, at noon to complete the execution.
Our thoughts are with everyone involved in the execution process.
UPDATE: The Court just denied Barwick's pending claims at 12:00 p.m. EST., clearing the way for the execution to proceed at 6:00 p.m.