Florida pastor dies of gunshot wound nearly 60 years after he was shot

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

John Henry Barrett, a pastor at New Macedonia Baptist Church, was 19 years old when he was shot in the neck in 1958 after an argument with a friend. Now, decades later, that same gunshot wound has killed him.

However, the pastor, now 77, recently fell ill, and he died on May 13 due to septic shock, urinary tract infection and paraplegia, according to CBS 12.

The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner ruled that his death was a homicide and was caused by complications stemming from the shooting nearly 60 years ago. However, because of double jeopardy laws, the friend who shot him all those years ago cannot be charged in his death, because he has already served time in prison for the shooting.

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As a result of the shooting, Barrett had been paralyzed, but he told the Miami Herald in 1974 that he viewed the shooting as a blessing. He said that because of his paralysis, he was free to pursue his career as a pastor when he was no longer able to work as a farm worker due to the paralysis.

“If the accident hadn’t happened, I would have spent all of my life as a farm worker,” he said.

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