Federal judge rejects media bid to view Ritchie execution

INDIANAPOLIS - A federal judge wasn't swayed by arguments from media groups seeking to witness the execution of a convicted killer.




Benjamin Ritchie is set to be executed "before the hour of sunrise" on Tuesday at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. Ritchie, 45, has been on death row for more than 20 years for shooting and killing Beech Grove police officer Bill Toney in 2000.

He was at the center of a clemency hearing this month. The Indiana Parole Board ultimately recommended the execution go forward. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun reviewed the recommendation and said he would allow the execution to proceed.




Attorneys for Ritchie had argued he suffered from brain damage due to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder and mistreatment as a toddler. As a result, at the time of the shooting, he lacked the capacity to "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.




Ritchie's attorneys have challenged the execution in federal court and filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court.








Several media groups filed for a preliminary injunction seeking to suspend rules that bar reporters from witnessing executions. The complaint, filed this month in federal court, challenged the constitutionality of a provision in state code that prohibits news organizations from observing executions.




The media groups argued the law prevents the public from receiving an unbiased view of how the death penalty is carried out.




In his ruling denying the media group's request, Judge Matthew Brookman wrote that First Amendment considerations didn't apply because executions fall "outside the criminal adjudication process."




The judge also rejected claims that state law discriminates against journalists by barring them from witnessing executions.




According to Indiana code, only the following individuals may be present during an execution:

1. The warden of the state prison





2. The person designated by the warden of the state prison and any assistants who are necessary to assist in the execution





3. The prison physician





4. One other physician





5. The spiritual advisor of the convicted person





6. The prison chaplain





7. Not more than five friends or relatives of the convicted person who are invited by the convicted person to attend





8. Except as provided in subsection (b), not more than eight (8) of the following members of the victim's immediate family who are at least eighteen (18) years of age:
   
   
   
   • (A) The victim's spouse.
   
   
   
   
   
   • (B) One (1) or more of the victim's children.
   
   
   
   
   
   • (C) One (1) or more of the victim's parents.
   
   
   
   
   
   • (D) One (1) or more of the victim's grandparents.
   
   
   
   
   
   • (E) One (1) or more of the victim's siblings.
   
   
   
   

Brookman noted that media members may gain access to executions by qualifying under one of the listed categories. As a practical matter, that would be as one of the friends or relatives designated by the person being put to death.




A reporter from the Indiana Capital Chronicle, for example, witnessed the death of Joseph Corcoran last year.




"At bottom, Indiana law treats members of the press the same as members of the public at large," the ruling read in part. "They are not being singled out for disparate treatment, even though Indiana law permits physicians and spiritual advisors to attend executions."





via: https://fox59.com/indiana-news/federal-judge-rejects-media-bid-to-view-ritchie-execution/