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Updated July 12, 2006, 3:23 p.m. ET
An Interview with Rocky Barton

"She always used to joke about getting two rocking chairs and sitting on the front porch and watching the traffic go by. Just growing old with someone I love. I regret that. That was a dream of mine, and she was my dream lady."

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CourtTVnews.com reporters Emanuella Grinberg and Harry Swartz-Turfle interviewed death row inmate Rocky Barton on July 7 at the Mansfield Correctional Institution in Mansfield, Ohio. He was executed by lethal injection Wednesday morning. The transcript below has been edited for length and clarity.


COURTTVNEWS.COM: Can you start by describing a typical day on death row?

ROCKY BARTON: Well, start off about 8 a.m. for breakfast. … We get two-and-a-half hours for rec. I usually play handball or basketball during recreation, and then eat lunch around 12, and read and watch TV for the remainder of the day.

CTV: What kind of shows are you able to watch?

BARTON: We pick up all the network channels.

CTV: Do you have a favorite show?

BARTON: Not really. I'm pretty burned out on TV, I've seen so much of it.

CTV: Do you read?

BARTON: Yeah.

CTV: What's your favorite book?

BARTON: The Bible.

CTV: Any magazines or ...?

BARTON: I like reading the newspapers that come through.

CTV: Which newspapers do you get?

BARTON: The Dayton Daily is the one that's closest to my hometown. That's usually what I read is the Dayton Daily.

CTV: What's the highlight of your day?

BARTON: Recreation.

CTV: What's the low point?

BARTON: Probably the hours between 12 and 4 p.m. when I don't have recreation. It's a slow part of the day, there's nothing on TV. Usually get tired by then. I mean, bored more than tired.

CTV: Is recreation indoor or outdoor?

BARTON: They have an indoor recreation cage and an outdoor recreation cage. Every other month it changes up. Outside you have the opportunity to play basketball and handball. On the inside, they have exercise equipment. You can do pull-ups and sit-ups, dips, board games, cards. And the telephone's on the inside, so you have the opportunity to make collect calls.

CTV: Do you have a favorite board game?

BARTON: No, I don't play board games.

CTV: Do you do sit-ups or push-ups?

BARTON: I used to, but I got an injury to my shoulder. I got a torn rotator cuff, so it limits me to what I can do.

CTV: Do you communicate with other inmates?

BARTON: Yeah, during our recreation period is the only time we get to socialize. And there's five of us at a time that get out for recreation.

CTV: Are you friends with any of them?

BARTON: Yeah, I have friends on death row.


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