Latest news with #IndianaParoleBoard
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Indiana inmate to be executed Tuesday for fatal police shooting in 2000
May 19 (UPI) -- Indiana is set to execute an inmate early Tuesday morning, almost 25 years after he shot and killed Beech Grove Police Department officer William Toney. Authorities are set to administer the lethal infection to Benjamin Ritchie shortly after midnight Tuesday at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, Ind. Indiana last December executed Joseph Corcoran, the state's first execution in approximately 15 years. Indiana had paused the procedure because of a lack of supply of lethal injection drugs. Gov. Mike Braun, R-Ind., who took office in January, last week refused to grant Ritchie clemency, following the recommendation of the Indiana Parole Board. Ritchie shot and killed Toney in September 2000 after the officer attempted to stop a stolen van. The vehicle crashed, leading to a foot chase through a residential neighborhood in Beech Grove, an Indianapolis suburb with a population of approximately 14,700 people in Marion County, Ind. Ritchie, who was 20 at the time, had been planning to commit an armed robbery with another man. He was also wanted in Ohio for a separate vehicle theft involving use of a weapon. Now 45, Ritchie was sentenced to death in October of 2002. Toney had been an officer for two years before the incident on Sept. 29, 2000. He was killed the day before his 32nd birthday. He was survived by his wife and two young daughters. Lawyers for Ritchie had argued that his abusive upbringing and a Fetal Alcohol Syndrome diagnosis were grounds for clemency. He has exhausted his appeals process at the state level. Indiana and Wyoming are the only two to employ the death penalty that do not permit media representatives to witness executions. A collective of journalists lost a court battle to force the state to permit witnesses, arguing the media has a First Amendment right to witness executions.
Indianapolis Star
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Judge rejects journalists' bid to witness Indiana executions while lawsuit proceeds
EVANSVILLE — A federal judge declined to force Indiana prison officials to let journalists witness executions while a lawsuit brought by several news organizations proceeds. Judge Matthew P. Brookman, of the Southern District of Indiana, denied the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction on the grounds that they were unlikely to succeed on the merits of their claim that reporters have a First Amendment right to witness executions. The ruling, issued late Friday, comes just before the scheduled execution of Benjamin Ritchie on Tuesday. He was sentenced to death by lethal injection for the murder of a Beech Grove police officer in 2002. Gov. Mike Braun previously declined to halt Ritchie's execution, writing in a letter to the Indiana Parole Board that his office determined Ritchie's request for clemency "does not rise to the level of requiring a commutation of his death sentence." The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed suit against Indiana's top state prison officials on behalf of the five news organizations May 5. The suit seeks to overturn a state statute and Indiana State Prison policy restricting journalists' ability to witness executions first hand. Indiana is one of just two death-penalty states to not afford reporters access to observe executions. Wyoming, the only other state with such a rule, has not carried out the death penalty since 1992, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Under the Indiana State Prison's current policy, it is effectively up to the condemned person to decide whether journalists witness their execution. They are permitted five witnesses — which may include family, friends and media — but journalists are otherwise barred from attending the proceedings. The plaintiffs — including Gannett, which owns IndyStar, the Courier & Press and several other Indiana publications — argue the policy violates the First Amendment's guarantee of a free press and hinders the public's ability to understand a life-or-death issue. Lin Weeks, a senior staff attorney with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, argued during a hearing Friday that Indiana was "uniquely restrictive" in how it handles press access to executions. "There's an importance in allowing the public to see that justice is carried out," Weeks said. In their motion for a preliminary injunction, the plaintiffs asserted that reporters should be granted access to witness Ritchie's execution and any other death sentences carried out while the case is litigated. "The balance of equities favors granting preliminary relief because 'injunctions protecting First Amendment freedoms are always in the public interest,'" the motion states. Brookman determined that however restrictive Indiana may be in how it carries out executions, state law "treats members of the press the same as members of the public at large." "They are not being singled out for disparate treatment, even though Indiana law permits physicians and spiritual advisors to attend executions," Brookman wrote in his order. Clay Calvert, a First Amendment scholar and nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who has no affiliation with the plaintiffs, said Indiana's practice of not reserving seats for reporters shields executions from public scrutiny. "The First Amendment should protect journalists' ability to be physically present and watch an execution from the moment an individual enters the chamber through and until the individual dies," Calvert said in an interview prior to Brookman's ruling. "That's because journalists, in this case, serve as proxies and surrogates for members of the public who cannot all be physically present." The defendants — Indiana State Prison Warden Ron Neal and Indiana Department of Correction Commissioner Lloyd Arnold — urged Brookman to deny the plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction on several grounds, asserting that journalists have no more right than the general public to witness an execution. In the state's view, it's no different than when a reporter visits someone who is incarcerated at an Indiana prison: Access is tightly controlled, can be restricted, and is at the discretion of both the inmate and prison officials. "There's simply no right to witness an execution," Special Counsel Jefferson S. Garn, of the Indiana Attorney General's office, said Friday. Garn argued that having to adapt the "highly coordinated operation" days before Ritchie's execution places an undue burden on the state. Appearing in court remotely from his office at the Indiana State Prison, Neal testified that allowing journalists to attend could "force us to substantially change policies." The state also took issue with the notion that reporters are barred outright from witnessing executions in Indiana. Indiana State Prison policy states that "media personnel shall not be permitted to witness the execution or to be in the execution chamber" — unless the condemned person invites a journalist as one of five friends and family they choose as a witness. "Indiana code treats members of the press the same as members of the public," Garn told the court. Brookman appeared receptive to the argument, writing in his order that "members of the media can attend (executions) the same way that members of the public can." The state argued the timing of the lawsuit was reason enough to oppose a preliminary injunction. The Indiana law at issue has remained unchanged for years, Garn said, but the plaintiffs filed suit less than one month before Ritchie's scheduled execution, leaving the state and the court just days to craft new procedures that would allow for journalists to serve as witnesses. "They knew this execution was going to be scheduled even in September," Garn said. "To ask the department to make changes at the last minute should be denied." In their complaint arguing that journalists should be afforded greater access, the plaintiffs cited the 1985 execution of William Vandiver by electrocution. Because no reporters were present in the death chamber, news outlets relied on conflicting testimony from prison officials and Vandiver's attorney to piece together what happened during the 17 minutes it took to put Vandiver to death. A prison doctor described the ordeal in plain terms, saying that after an initial application of 2,300 volts, the electrical current "was applied three more times before (Vandiver) was pronounced dead 17 minutes later." A Department of Corrections spokesperson admitted the execution "did not go according to plan" but disclosed few other details. Vandiver's attorney said the process was "outrageous," the plaintiffs' attorneys wrote in the complaint. Ted Bridis, a former AP reporter who witnessed executions in Kentucky and Oklahoma as a news media observer, likewise pointed to Vandiver's case to illustrate the value journalists can afford the public when they serve as eyewitnesses. "This is the ultimate use of force by the government," said Bridis, who now teaches journalism at the University of Florida. "We need to be there as independent observers, as representatives of the public and our readers and viewers and listeners, to make sure they understand exactly what happens in these cases." Earlier this month, a U.S. District Court judge in Idaho ordered state officials there to grant media witnesses "audio and visual access" to view the preparation and administration of lethal drugs during executions after the AP and two Idaho newspapers filed suit. In her order, Judge Debora K. Grasham wrote that reporters' ability to witness every step of the execution process "concerns the public's First Amendment right of access" to what is "the most severe penalty enforced by our state." In Indiana, attorneys for the state took issue with the notion that journalists have any role to play in ensuring executions are carried out in accordance with the Constitution. "(The plaintiffs) argue that the press serves an important role in the 'proper functioning' of executions in ensuring that they comport with the Eighth Amendment, i.e., it isn't cruel and unusual," they wrote. "This argument is misguided..." Garn said prison officials, including a specially trained execution team and an on-site physician, are responsible for ensuring executions are carried out in a humane manner, not journalists.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Death Penalty hearing set for Evansville Courtroom
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT)- Evansville will take the spotlight on Thursday in the debate over media coverage of Indiana state executions. Property owners rally before INDOT's restraining order hearing An emergency hearing will be held in Evansville's U.S. District Court. The hearing will be over whether or not the state of Indiana is infringing on a group of media companies' First Amendment rights by barring journalists from witnessing next Tuesday's execution of Benjamin Ritchie. Ritchie was convicted of killing Beech Grove Police Officer William Toney in 2000. On Wednesday, the Indiana Parole Board turned down Ritchie's request for clemency, and Governor Mike Braun refused to issue a stay of execution. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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
