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Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Cop killer will become 2nd convict executed in Indiana since 2009
An Indiana man who was convicted of killing a police officer two decades ago is set to be the second person executed in the state since 2009. Benjamin Ritchie, 45, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at the Indiana State Prison on Tuesday, May 20, before sunrise, "unless there's last-minute court action," according to the Associated Press. Ritchie has been on death row for over 20 years for the 2000 fatal shooting of Beech Grove Police Officer Bill Toney. Ritchie was 20 when he and others stole a van in Beech Grove, near Indianapolis, the outlet reported. He shot the 31-year-old police officer and father of two daughters five times during a foot chase, killing him. He was also on probation at the time for a 1998 burglary conviction. INDIANA CARRIES OUT FIRST EXECUTION IN 15 YEARS AFTER INMATE CHOOSES BEN & JERRY'S ICE CREAM AS LAST MEAL "Officer William Toney lost his life 25 years ago serving the community he lived in," the Beech Grove Police Department shared in a statement with Fox News Digital. Read On The Fox News App "Taking a solemn oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of this great state, so that its citizens may lead a peaceful life. His life was violently taken from him by an individual whose actions adversely affected the innocent and ripped at the very fabric that holds society together," the statement continued. The Indiana Law Enforcement Memorial site added that Toney's life was taken one day before his 32nd birthday. Last Wednesday, the Indiana Parole Board rejected a clemency plea from Ritchie, who had petitioned the board to commute his death sentence to life without parole. Attorneys for Ritchie had argued he suffered from brain damage due to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder and mistreatment as a toddler, FOX 59 reported. As a result, at the time of the shooting, he lacked the capacity "to process information quickly or make appropriate decisions in a complex situation he was unfamiliar with," according to an expert who spoke during the clemency hearing. South Carolina Convict Inches Closer To First Us Death By Firing Squad In 15 Years "I've ruined my life and other people's lives, and I'm so sorry for that night," Ritchie told the parole board, the AP reported. "You can't take back what you did." Relatives of Toney also spoke at a clemency hearing last week, urging officials to move forward with the execution. "It's time. We're all tired," Toney's widow said at the clemency hearing, per the AP. "It is time for this chapter of my story, our story, to be closed. It's time for us to remember Bill, to remember Bill's life, and not his death." Cop Killer Dies After 'Botched' Firing Squad Execution; Witness In The Room Reveals How It Happened Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said he followed the recommendation of the board and would allow the execution to proceed. "After carefully reviewing the unanimous recommendation from the State Parole Board, I have decided to allow the execution of Benjamin Ritchie to proceed as planned for May 20," Braun wrote in a statement. Ritchie's attorneys are challenging that decision in federal court and have also filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the AP, noting that the jury did not receive accurate information about Ritchie's brain damage. Ritchie's execution would mark the second inmate to be put to death in Indiana in 15 years, according to the AP. Indiana resumed executions in December after a year-long hiatus due to the scarcity of lethal injection drugs nationwide, the AP reported. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: Cop killer will become 2nd convict executed in Indiana since 2009
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Indiana Parole Board denies clemency for death row inmate; final decision now up to governor
Death row inmate Benjamin Ritchie appeals to the Indiana Parole Board during a clemency hearing on Monday, May 5, 2025. (Screenshot of livestream) The Indiana Parole Board rejected a clemency plea from Benjamin Ritchie, recommending that Gov. Mike Braun allow the death row inmate's May 20 execution to proceed as scheduled. Ritchie, who fatally shot Beech Grove law enforcement officer William Toney during a police pursuit on Sept. 29, 2000, had petitioned the board to commute his death sentence to life without parole. In a letter dated Tuesday, board chairwoman Gwen Horth said the five-member panel had reviewed Ritchie's application, including 'a vast amount of testimony and evidence' regarding his recent diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD), as well as his history of childhood abuse and neglect, and his conduct while incarcerated. The board also considered the testimony of Toney's family and friends that was provided during a two-hour public hearing on Monday. Horth said the board ultimately found that Ritchie's request for clemency 'does not rise to the level of requiring a commutation of his death sentence.' She did not say in her letter to Braun if all board members agreed. Unlike in other clemency cases, the board did not take a public vote before issuing its decision. Annie Goeller, a DOC spokesperson, told the Indiana Capital Chronicle that the parole board 'decided to make a unanimous recommendation.' A spokesperson for the governor's office said Wednesday that Braun 'is reviewing the recommendation.' 'By all accounts, Bill Toney was a loving husband, father, and friend as well as a devoted public servant who genuinely tried to do what was best for his community of Beech Grove,' Horth wrote on behalf of the board. She noted that Toney left behind a wife, two young daughters — aged 4 and 18 months — and many close friends, neighbors and fellow officers. 'The outcome that those individuals were promised by a jury of Mr. Ritchie's peers was that Mr. Ritchie would ultimately be put to death for his egregious actions,' Horth continued. 'The family and friends of Bill Toney have patiently waited for the day when that sentence would be fulfilled.' Story continues below. Ritchie-Recommendation Ritchie, now 45, has been on Indiana's death row since his 2002 conviction. During his first clemency hearing, held at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, Ritchie admitted for the first time that he had intentionally fired the fatal shot and left the officer to die. 'Mr. Ritchie himself has given multiple versions of the events that transpired,' Horth wrote. 'However, during his hearing on May 5, 2025, Mr. Ritchie did admit to being in a stationary position and intentionally shooting Officer Bill Toney.' At the time of the shooting, Ritchie was in violation of probation for a prior burglary conviction, Horth noted. His record also included a series of juvenile delinquency findings that led to his incarceration as a minor. And although some former corrections officers praised Ritchie's behavior, the parole board's review emphasized that Ritchie has accumulated more than 40 conduct violations during his two decades in prison, some of which involved violent or threatening behavior toward officers and other inmates. Advocates for Ritchie argued that his FASD diagnosis — a condition linked to cognitive impairments and behavioral challenges — should disqualify him from capital punishment, especially when combined with his abusive upbringing and lead exposure as a child. 'A monster running loose in the countryside.' Clemency hearings end for Indiana death row inmate Still, Horth said the board believed those factors had already been weighed by judges and juries over the course of years of legal proceedings. 'We find that a vast majority of the information related to Benjamin Ritchie's history of abuse and neglect, including but not limited to pre-natal alcohol exposure, has been appropriately considered by the fact finders and judicial officers tasked with considering the evidence,' she said in the board's letter. A final clemency decision now rests with Braun. The governor can accept the parole board's recommendation, or elect to commute Ritchie's death sentence to life imprisonment. There's no timetable for the governor to issue his opinion. Without clemency, Ritchie is unlikely to succeed in challenging his death sentence. The inmate's lawyers are seeking a last-minute execution pause from the U.S. Supreme Court, in addition to an emergency stay from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Both filings are still pending. The Indiana Supreme Court already denied a stay. Three clemencies have been granted in Indiana since 1976. The most recent was in 2005, when then-Gov. Mitch Daniels commuted the death sentence for Arthur Baird, who killed his pregnant wife and her parents in 1985. Although the parole board denied his petition for clemency, Daniels granted Baird clemency one day before the scheduled execution, in part citing questions about Baird's sanity. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
