Rushane Barnett Gets Baptized After Incarceration for Quintuple Murder

23-year-old, known for the quintuple murder in Clarendon, has decided to leave his life in the hands of the lord after spending some time behind bars.

The convicted felon, two months after he was sentenced to serve five life sentences, reportedly got baptized at the Tower Street Correctional Center during a ceremony that was being conducted. The correctional facility is also where Barnett is being held.

Barnett was arrested and charged after which he was sentenced back in October for the murders of his family members Kemesha Wright, and her children, Kishawn Henry Jr, Rafaella Smith, Kimanda Smith, and Sharalee Smith. The slain family was found in their home in Cocoa Piece home in Clarendon with multiple stab wounds and lacerations and slashed throats on June 21, 2022.

The Wilson Run, Trelawny, native is expected to serve a minimum of 61 years and eight months in prison before he is able to seek parole.

Speaking on the baptism, a source commented, “We made him know say once he comes into God’s family, he is no longer condemned. We don’t preach and teach condemnation. Society might condemn you. But in the Word, once you live in God, you are not condemned. But if you live in sin, you are. So we kinda bring it across to him in such a way that he came to a point where he said ‘I surrender’,”

During the trial, Barnett had testified that he had heard voices in his head, and the source continued, “It was not him, but it is him. He was just the vessel used to carry out this act. He said, ‘Listen church, mi cyah believe. Mi surprise all miself. Mi cyah believe mi would a do something like this’. It was like he was saying he was overtaken by spirits so they ended up have to pray over him before he was baptised,”

The event was described as “something else” and it was also mentioned that Barnett wept a bit during the ceremony. It was said that although he didn’t really cry tears “you could feel the sorrows in his heart.”

Giving more details, it was relayed that the baptism ceremony was already in progress when word was received that Barnett wished to participate and be baptized, so an officer went to escort him. The source also stated that no inmate gets baptized blindly because before completing the ceremony, they are taught about the Word and the bible so that they have a full understanding of the commitment. The chaplain also provides counselling (psychosocial and biblical).

Revealing that everyone at the prison was in attendance for the baptism, the source pointed out that after weeks of counselling with the chaplain for the prison, Barnett was considered to be “in his right mind.”

Gwendolyn McKnight, the mother of Wright and grandmother to the children, was said to be happy upon hearing the news. Reportedly, McKnight rejoiced in the news and said that she had forgiven him for his grave sin and always hoped that the lord would find his way into Barnett’s life. She voiced that she hopes that he understands the gravity of the crime he committed against “his own flesh and blood who cared for him” and wished him all the best moving forward.

Barnett’s former lawyer, defence attorney Tameka Harris, also spoke about how delighted she was to receive the news of his baptism and expressed how happy she was that he was seeking the strength and counsel of the Lord.

Along with Barnett, forty-one other inmates, most of them sentenced to serving a life of imprisonment, have been baptized since the beginning of the year.