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yesterday

Indiana Executes Benjamin Ritchie for 2000 Police Officer Killing

Ritchie, 45, was put to death early Tuesday morning after last-minute appeals were denied, marking the state’s second execution since 2009.

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Overview

  • Benjamin Ritchie was executed by lethal injection at 12:46 a.m. on May 20, 2025, at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.
  • Ritchie was convicted of the 2000 fatal shooting of Beech Grove Police Officer Bill Toney, who was 31 and a married father of two.
  • Governor Mike Braun denied clemency following the Indiana Parole Board’s recommendation, citing Ritchie’s prison violations and the jury’s decision.
  • Defense attorneys argued Ritchie’s brain damage from fetal alcohol syndrome and childhood lead exposure impaired his decision-making at the time of the crime.
  • Indiana’s execution process has faced scrutiny for barring media witnesses, a policy shared only with Wyoming, and is the subject of a federal lawsuit by news organizations.