Indiana man set for execution in state's second since 2009

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — An Indiana man convicted in the 2000 killing of a police officer is set to receive a lethal injection early Tuesday in the state’s second execution in 15 years.

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — An Indiana man convicted in the 2000 killing of a police officer is set to receive a lethal injection early Tuesday in the state’s second execution in 15 years.

Benjamin Ritchie, 45, has been on death row for more than 20 years after being convicted in the fatal shooting of Beech Grove Police Officer Bill Toney during a foot chase.

Unless there’s last-minute court action, Ritchie is scheduled to be executed “before the hour of sunrise” at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, according to state officials.

Indiana resumed executions in December after a year-long hiatus due to the scarcity of lethal injection drugs nationwide. Prison officials provided photos of the execution chamber in advance of Joseph Corcoran’s execution, showing a space that looks like a sparse operating room with a gurney, fluorescent lighting, a floor drain, and an adjacent viewing room. They have offered few other details about the process, including the time at which the executions take place.

Benjamin Ritchie.Indiana Department of Correction via APAmong 27 states with death penalty laws, Indiana is one of two that bars media witnesses. The other, Wyoming, has conducted one execution in the last half-century. The Associated Press and other media organizations have filed a federal lawsuit in Indiana seeking media access.