Rocky and Kimbirli Barton were planning to renew their vows in the months before January 2003. But their troubled relationship had reached a low point in mid-January, and Kimbirli had told Rocky she was leaving him.

In the early morning of Jan. 16, after Kimbirli had left for work, Rocky Barton woke up his stepdaughter. "The wedding's off ... your mom's a psycho bitch," he said, according to Jamie Reising's testimony at his trial.

He ordered her to pack her belongings. Then he drove Reising to the home of her older sister, Tiffany. Both women described Barton as "agitated" and "angry."

Kimbirli's co-workers at Lasik Plus said she received numerous phone calls from Barton that morning, and the calls ultimately prompted her to leave work, appearing shaken and nervous.

Barton continued to make angry, threatening phone calls to her throughout the day. She was reluctant to return home to retrieve her belongings, but ultimately he convinced her to come. Accompanied by Barton's uncle, Larry, and her daughter Jamie, Kimbirli arrived at the Barton farmhouse at about 4 p.m.

As Kimbirli got out of the truck, Barton emerged from the garage with a shotgun and fired a round into her side. Reising reached for her mother, and Barton shot Kimbirli again in the back.

The daughters of Kimbirli Barton, Tiffany Reising (left), Julie Vickers (right), and Kimbirli's sister, Sheri Hathaway, attended a competency hearing for Rocky Barton on July 3.

As Kimbirli lay slumped in her daughter's lap, Barton approached them and said, "I told you I was insane," dropped to his knees and shot himself in the face.

He survived, but underwent reconstructive surgery while awaiting trial. Because of his prior conviction for attempted murder, Barton faced the death penalty.

When Barton's trial opened in September 2003, his lawyers did not dispute that he killed his wife. Instead, they claimed the shooting lacked the calculation and design necessary for a capital murder conviction.

After a week-long trial, a Warren County jury took seven hours to convict Barton of aggravated murder.

He stood up during the penalty phase and urged the panel to execute him.

"At this time, my attorneys advised me to beg for my life. I can't do that. I strongly believe in the death penalty. And for the ruthless, cold-blooded act that I committed, if I was sitting over there, I'd hold out for the death penalty," he said.

"Punishment would be to wake up every day and have a date with death. That's the only punishment for this crime. That's all I've got to say."

The panel deliberated for less than five minutes before passing a sentence of death.

In subsequent mental health evaluations, Barton was diagnosed with depression and schizoaffective disorder, but nonetheless deemed competent to waive his appeals, which he has persistently done. He did not attend his clemency hearing, and his final chance at a stay was lost earlier this month. Against the advice of his lawyers, who believe he has viable claims of mental illness, Barton told the court during a competency hearing that he did not wish to pursue further appeals.

"Instead of sitting on death row for 10 or 20 years and having the stress of fighting the legal system, I don't think I could stand it. I can't stand it mentally," Barton told CourtTVnews.com. "So, mainly it's because of guilt for what I done. I feel like I deserve to die."

His execution date was set for July 12, 2006, less than three years after his conviction, making his the shortest stint on death row in Ohio's modern history.