Barrett was born in New York City, and according to his biography, his family moved away to avoid the influx of Jewish and Puerto Rican immigrants.

In 1968, Barrett served as executive director of the South Carolina branch of the American Independent Party, on behalf of George C. Wallace's presidential bid.

In 1982, Barrett published The Commission, a memoir advocating the resettlement of "those who were once citizens" to "Puerto Rico, Mexico, Israel, the Orient, and Africa."

Contending that non-whites, especially blacks, were inferior: "The Negro race... possess[es] no creativity of its own [and] pulls the vitality away from civilization."

In 2004, Barrett organized a booth at the Neshoba County Fair in Mississippi for the public to shake hands with Edgar Ray Killen and sign a petition of support.

Killen, who did not appear at the aforementioned event, was later convicted of manslaughter for his role in the 1964 Ku Klux Klan-led murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner.

[8] An autopsy revealed that Barrett suffered multiple stab wounds to his neck area, blunt force trauma to the head, and fractured ribs.

[10][full citation needed] McGee was on probation after having been released in February from the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman) in Sunflower County.