Stop the Execution of Benjamin Ritchie in Indiana
Governor Mike Braun
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An execution date has been set for Indiana death row prisoner Benjamin Ritchie on May 20, 2025 for the 2000 murder of William Toney.
UPDATE May 14, 2025: The Indiana Parole Board has declined to recommend that Indiana Governor Mike Braun grant clemency to Benjamin Ritchie, who is scheduled to be executed on May 20. However, in Indiana the Governor has full authority to grant clemency with or without a recommendation.
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Call Governor Braun at 317-232-4567 with the following message:
"Hi. My name is [your name]. I am calling to request that Gov. Braun halts the 5/20 execution of Benjamin Ritchie. Mr. Ritchie was born with severe brain damage due to a mother who abused alcohol and other drugs during pregnancy. His brain damage limits him to a similar capacity of someone who's intellectually disabled. This does not constitute 'the worst of the worst'."
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The following has been shared from the Indiana Capital Chronicle:
Ritchie’s clemency petition, signed by the inmate on April 22, argued that he was “born with a severely damaged brain due to prenatal alcohol exposure.”
His mother drank nearly every day during her pregnancy with Ben. She also smoked marijuana daily and took other drugs,” according to the filing. Lawyers additionally noted that a geneticist diagnosed Ritchie with Partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (pFAS), “meaning his brain damage limits Ben’s functioning to that similar to a person with intellectual disability.”
Benjamin Ritchie is scheduled to be executed in just three weeks, on May 20, despite the fact that a jury never heard evidence of his profound brain damage and functional impairments due to Partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (pFAS) and exposure to multiple neurotoxins before they sentenced him to death. Ben was also only 20 years old at the time of his crime, and there have been significant developments in research on adolescent brain development in the last two decades showing that the parts of the brain responsible for impulse control are not fully developed until age 25. One expert found that, at the time of the crime, Mr. Ritchie’s functional age due to his multiple impairments was more similar to a child or adolescent than a 20-year-old. Ben’s current lawyers have argued that if this information had been properly presented to the jury, it could have resulted in a different sentence. Ben offered to plead to life without parole but the State refused. Despite agreeing that there is sufficient evidence to establish that Ben has pFAS, the Indiana Supreme Court, by a highly unusual split 2-2 vote denied Ben’s request that they consider this new information. If Ben’s scheduled execution proceeds on May 20, he will die without any jury or court having considered the significance of his permanent, undisputed brain damage. |
While the vast majority of states with capital punishment continue on a downward trend of executions, Indiana is out of step with national trends. In late 2024, Indiana performed its 1st execution in 15 years, and continues to schedule more execution dates.
Please sign the petition asking Governor Braun to do everything within his power to stop this execution, including issuing a stay, and seeking a path to clemency in the case.
Sponsored by
To:
Governor Mike Braun
From:
[Your Name]
We are writing to ask that you to stop the upcoming execution of Benjamin Ritchie on May 20, 2025 for the 2000 murder of William Toney.
While we recognize the gravity of his crime, we believe that the death penalty is not an appropriate punishment in this case.
Benjamin Ritchie is scheduled to be executed on May 20, despite the fact that a jury never heard evidence of his profound brain damage and functional impairments due to Partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (pFAS) and exposure to multiple neurotoxins before they sentenced him to death.
Ben was also only 20 years old at the time of his crime, and there have been significant developments in research on adolescent brain development in the last two decades showing that the parts of the brain responsible for impulse control are not fully developed until age 25. One expert found that, at the time of the crime, Mr. Ritchie’s functional age due to his multiple impairments was more similar to a child or adolescent than a 20-year-old.
Despite agreeing that there is sufficient evidence to establish that Ben has pFAS, the Indiana Supreme Court, by a highly unusual split 2-2 vote denied Ben’s request that they consider this new information.
If Ben’s scheduled execution proceeds on May 20, he will die without any jury or court having considered the significance of his permanent, undisputed brain damage. Indiana has an annual recognition day dedicated to the impacts of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disability. Governor Braun, please consider what the jury could not. Clemency means mercy. Please grant mercy to Benjamin Ritchie.
ALSO, since Benjamin Ritchie was convicted, 29 additional Indiana law enforcement officers have been killed in the line of duty, and not one of those cases has resulted in a death sentence. Statistics prove that law enforcement officers are significantly more likely to be killed in the line of duty in states that have the death penalty than in states that do not have it, and even more so in states that actually carry out executions.
Benjamin Ritchie can be held accountable and severely punished without executing him. Please show mercy by commuting his death sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Furthermore, while the vast majority of states with capital punishment continue on a downward trend of executions, Indiana is out of step with national trends.
We, the undersigned, ask that you do everything within your power to stop this execution, including issuing a stay, and seeking a path to clemency in the case.
Thank you for your time and attention to this serious matter.