Gov. Braun allows execution of Benjamin Ritchie after clemency plea denied
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — After the Indiana Parole Board rejected a clemency plea from Benjamin Ritchie, convicted for killing Beech Grove police officer William Toney in 2000, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun is allowing the execution to continue.
“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 said in a statement.
The Indiana Parole Board announced their rejection of Ritchie’s clemency plea Wednesday, saying the request “does not rise to the level of requiring a commutation of his death sentence.”
Ritchie’s defense, through multiple efforts including petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the execution and change the sentence to life in prison, argued that Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD) left Ritchie with severe brain damage, which played a role in Ritchie stealing a van and killing Toney during a police pursuit. His attorney, Mark Koselke, told News 8, “We want a chance at a fair sentence.”
Monday, the Indiana Parole Board heard testimonies from Toney’s family and friends who argued for the execution to continue. Advocates both for and against the execution were outside the building during the public hearing.
The Board unanimously rejected his clemency plea, saying they reviewed Ritchie’s application and “a vast amount of testimony and evidence” over the FASD claims.
After the Board issued their recommendation, Koselke issued a statement: “We are extremely disappointed that the Parole Board concluded that Mr. Ritchie’s death sentence is based on accurate information. Two out of four Indiana Supreme Court Justices, including Chief Justice Rush, said that the jury was not provided accurate evidence of Mr. Ritchie’s severe brain damage.
If the jury had heard this evidence, we believe he would have received a different sentence. We remain hopeful that Governor Braun will consider the unique, compounding impacts of Mr. Ritchie’s age and brain damage and commute Benjamin Ritchie’s sentence.”