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yesterday

Indiana Executes Benjamin Ritchie for 2000 Police Officer Murder

Ritchie, convicted of killing Officer Bill Toney during a foot chase, was executed early May 20 in the state’s second execution since 2009.

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A sign stands outside of the Indiana State Prison as preparations are made at the facility to execute inmate Benjamin Ritchie on Monday, May 19, 2025. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
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Overview

  • Benjamin Ritchie, 45, was executed by lethal injection at 12:46 a.m. on May 20, 2025, at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.
  • This marks Indiana’s second execution since 2009, following a 15-year hiatus caused by lethal injection drug shortages.
  • Ritchie was sentenced to death in 2002 for the fatal shooting of Officer Bill Toney, a 31-year-old father of two, during a van theft foot chase in 2000.
  • Defense attorneys argued Ritchie’s fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and childhood lead exposure impaired his decision-making, but clemency and appeals were denied at all levels.
  • Legal challenges over Indiana’s execution secrecy and barring of media witnesses, as well as broader debates on mental health and the death penalty, remain unresolved.