An Indiana man who was convicted of killing a police officer two decades ago is set to be the second person executed in the state since 2009.
Benjamin Ritchie, 45, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at the Indiana State Prison on Tuesday, May 20, before sunrise, “unless there’s last-minute court action,” according to the Associated Press.
Ritchie has been on death row for over 20 years for the 2000 fatal shooting of Beech Grove Police Officer Bill Toney.
Ritchie was 20 when he and others stole a van in Beech Grove, near Indianapolis, the outlet reported. He shot the 31-year-old police officer and father of two daughters five times during a foot chase, killing him. He was also on probation at the time for a 1998 burglary conviction.
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This undated photo provided by the Indiana Department of Correction shows Benjamin Ritchie, who was convicted in the 2000 killing of Beech Grove Police Officer Bill Toney. (AP/Photo by Paul Harris/Getty Images)
“Officer William Toney lost his life 25 years ago serving the community he lived in,” the Beech Grove Police Department shared in a statement with Fox News Digital.
“Taking a solemn oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of this great state, so that its citizens may lead a peaceful life. His life was violently taken from him by an individual whose actions adversely affected the innocent and ripped at the very fabric that holds society together,” the statement continued.
“While there is no peace in the execution, there is comfort in the realization that society has kept its promise to the men and women of law enforcement to hold those accountable for their reckless choices and damaging actions, so that those still serving find strength knowing that their service is not in vain,” – Beech Grove Police Department
The Indiana Law Enforcement Memorial site added that Toney’s life was taken one day before his 32nd birthday.
Last Wednesday, the Indiana Parole Board rejected a clemency plea from Ritchie, who had petitioned the board to commute his death sentence to life without parole.
Attorneys for Ritchie had argued he suffered from brain damage due to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder and mistreatment as a toddler, FOX 59 reported. As a result, at the time of the shooting, he lacked the capacity “to process information quickly or make appropriate decisions in a complex situation he was unfamiliar with,” according to an expert who spoke during the clemency hearing.
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Beech Grove Police officer Bill Toney was killed in 2000, one day before his 32nd birthday, by a man on probation. (Indiana Law Enforcement Memorial website)
“I’ve ruined my life and other people’s lives, and I’m so sorry for that night,” Ritchie told the parole board, the AP reported. “You can’t take back what you did.”
Relatives of Toney also spoke at a clemency hearing last week, urging officials to move forward with the execution.
“It’s time. We’re all tired,” Toney’s widow said at the clemency hearing, per the AP. “It is time for this chapter of my story, our story, to be closed. It’s time for us to remember Bill, to remember Bill’s life, and not his death.”
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Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said he followed the recommendation of the board and would allow the execution to proceed.
“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 wrote in a statement.
Ritchie’s attorneys are challenging that decision in federal court and have also filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the AP, noting that the jury did not receive accurate information about Ritchie’s brain damage.
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Ritchie’s execution would mark the second inmate to be put to death in Indiana in 15 years, according to the AP.
Indiana resumed executions in December after a year-long hiatus due to the scarcity of lethal injection drugs nationwide, the AP reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
