The US state of Indiana executed a death row convict on Tuesday, the state’s second since 2009.
Benjamin Ritchie was executed by lethal injection at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, according to Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) officials.
The IDOC said in an online statement the execution process started shortly after midnight and the inmate was pronounced dead at 12:46 am.
Ritchie had been on Indiana’s death row since 2002, when he was convicted of killing Beech Grove police officer Bill Toney during a chase on foot in 2000.
His attorneys fought for years to overturn the death penalty sentence, arguing his legal counsel was ineffective and that his previous lawyers had failed to fully investigate whether he suffered from fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and childhood lead exposure.
The 45-year-old had “severe brain damage” since before birth because his mother abused alcohol and drugs during pregnancy, according to court documents.
'I've ruined my life, others' lives'
Ritchie told a parole board earlier this month he had "changed" during his more than two decades behind bars. He "apologized" for his actions, which led to the killing of Toney, the 31-year-old married father of two children.
“I’ve ruined my life and other people’s lives, and I’m so sorry for that night. If I could go back and just shake that kid, because he wouldn’t listen to nobody. You can’t take back what you did.”
He was 20 and on probation from a 1998 burglary conviction when he and others stole a van in Beech Grove, near Indianapolis. While Toney chased him on foot, he fired four shots, killing the police officer.
Executions in Indiana
The Midwestern state resumed executions in December 2024 after a yearslong hiatus marked by a scarcity of lethal injection drugs nationwide.
Among 27 states with death penalty laws, Indiana is one of two where media witnesses are barred. The other, Wyoming, has conducted one execution in the last 50 years. Ritchie's execution is among 12 scheduled in eight states this year.
(With AP inputs)
Benjamin Ritchie was executed by lethal injection at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, according to Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) officials.
The IDOC said in an online statement the execution process started shortly after midnight and the inmate was pronounced dead at 12:46 am.
Ritchie had been on Indiana’s death row since 2002, when he was convicted of killing Beech Grove police officer Bill Toney during a chase on foot in 2000.
His attorneys fought for years to overturn the death penalty sentence, arguing his legal counsel was ineffective and that his previous lawyers had failed to fully investigate whether he suffered from fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and childhood lead exposure.
The 45-year-old had “severe brain damage” since before birth because his mother abused alcohol and drugs during pregnancy, according to court documents.
'I've ruined my life, others' lives'
Ritchie told a parole board earlier this month he had "changed" during his more than two decades behind bars. He "apologized" for his actions, which led to the killing of Toney, the 31-year-old married father of two children.
“I’ve ruined my life and other people’s lives, and I’m so sorry for that night. If I could go back and just shake that kid, because he wouldn’t listen to nobody. You can’t take back what you did.”
He was 20 and on probation from a 1998 burglary conviction when he and others stole a van in Beech Grove, near Indianapolis. While Toney chased him on foot, he fired four shots, killing the police officer.
Executions in Indiana
The Midwestern state resumed executions in December 2024 after a yearslong hiatus marked by a scarcity of lethal injection drugs nationwide.
Among 27 states with death penalty laws, Indiana is one of two where media witnesses are barred. The other, Wyoming, has conducted one execution in the last 50 years. Ritchie's execution is among 12 scheduled in eight states this year.
(With AP inputs)
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