Barry Lee Fairchild was born on March 5, 1954, in Little Rock, Arkansas. Details about his early life remain limited, but what is known is that he came from a working-class background and struggled academically and socially. His attorneys would later argue that he had intellectual disabilities, stating he had limited mental capacity and difficulty understanding complex situations, factors that would become central to the controversy surrounding his trial and execution.

Fairchild did not have a long or public criminal history before his arrest in 1983. He lived in Pulaski County, Arkansas, and was described by those who knew him as someone with a quiet demeanor. Despite this, he would become entangled in one of the most debated capital punishment cases in the state’s history.

On February 26, 1983, Marjorie “Greta” Mason, a 22-year-old U.S. Air Force nurse, was kidnapped from a hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her body was later discovered in a field outside the city. She had been raped and shot in the head. The crime stunned the community, and a high-profile investigation followed. Police received a tip from a confidential informant who implicated Barry Lee Fairchild and his brother in the crime.

Fairchild was arrested shortly afterward. During questioning by Pulaski County Sheriff Tommy F. Robinson and Chief Deputy Larry Dill, he confessed twice to the crime, once in a verbal confession and once on video. However, Fairchild later recanted both confessions, alleging that he had been beaten, threatened, and coerced into confessing. He claimed that he was told what to say before the videotaping and feared for his life if he didn’t comply.

His defense attorneys argued that he was mentally retarded (now classified as intellectually disabled) and could not have fully understood the nature of his confession or the legal implications. Despite these claims and no clear physical evidence tying him to the shooting, Fairchild was convicted of capital murder on August 2, 1983, and sentenced to death.

Over the next decade, Fairchild’s case drew attention from legal experts, advocacy groups, and the public. In 1993, a federal court ruled that the State of Arkansas had not proven he was the actual shooter, and his death sentence was briefly commuted to life without parole. However, in 1994, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the ruling, reinstating the death sentence.

In 1995, a federal judge again found that Fairchild was likely not the shooter, but with all appeals exhausted and no new legal remedy available, Fairchild remained on death row. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a final appeal, citing "abuse of the writ" because Fairchild had already filed for habeas corpus.

On August 31, 1995, Barry Lee Fairchild was executed by lethal injection at the Varner Unit prison near Grady, Arkansas. He was 41 years old. Despite the final ruling, serious questions about his role in the murder and the fairness of his trial remain to this day. His execution has been cited by legal scholars and human rights advocates as a possible miscarriage of justice, particularly due to the claims of coercion and intellectual disability.