By Whitney Downard
and Casey Smith
Indiana Capital Chronicle
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Office of the Attorney General submitted a request Friday to set an execution date for Benjamin Ritchie, who was convicted in 2002 for killing a law enforcement officer from Beech Grove. Ritchie has exhausted his appeals.
“Most Hoosiers and I expect justice without delay, especially when someone murders a police officer, one of the many, many brave men and women we thank and respect daily,” Attorney General Todd Rokita said in a statement. “This convicted cop killer has been on death row far too long — 22 years — and it’s past time for him to pay his debt to society.”
In June, Rokita’s office requested an execution date for Joseph Corcoran, who killed four people in 1997. Corcoran, who similarly has exhausted his appeals, is scheduled to die Dec. 18 and would be the first person executed by the state since 2009.
Corcoran still has several legal options, including challenging the new execution protocol in Indiana, asking courts to block the execution due to his mental illness.
State officials struggled to obtain the necessary drugs for the three-ingredient execution cocktail for years, before turning instead to the single drug pentobarbital.
“This individual has been on death row since October of 2002 and exhausted all his appeals since his murder of Beech Grove Officer, William Toney, 32, on September 29, 2000,” Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office said in a Friday statement. “Gov. Holcomb will be fulfilling his gubernatorial duty by following the law and carrying out justice according to the conviction and sentencing of this case by the court.”
State public defenders assigned to Ritchie’s case did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
It’s now up to Indiana’s high court justices to grant the state’s request and set an execution date. Ritchie can still seek clemency or a pardon in his case — an unlikely option that hasn’t been granted to a death row inmate in over a decade.
There are currently eight men on death row in Indiana. Ritchie is among the four who have exhausted all their appeals and have no other recourse, according to the Indiana Public Defender Council’s website.
Ritchie case
Ritchie and two others stole a van from a gas station on Sept. 29, 2000 and officers later found the stolen van, initiating a pursuit. The trio stopped the van and fled on foot, running in opposite directions.
Toney chased Ritchie, who turned around and fired four shots and killed Toney. Ritchie, then 22, was convicted of the murder in 2002 and the jury unanimously recommended a death sentence.
Toney’s widow, Dee Dee Horen, shared news of the attorney general’s request with WTHR earlier this year, including that Ritchie would be the second man in line for the death penalty. At least two other men on death row were convicted of killing law enforcement officers.
According to courtroom reports from the IndyStar, Ritchie laughed when his verdict was read after the jury deliberated for more than three hours. Ritchie’s defense shared stories of his difficult home life but failed to sway the jury, who had to be sequestered for the trial.
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The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to giving Hoosiers a comprehensive look inside state government, policy and elections. The site combines daily coverage with in-depth scrutiny, political awareness and insightful commentary.
