INDIANAPOLIS – A failed execution attempt in Tennessee is renewing calls for Indiana to end the death penalty.
The Tennessee governor has halted executions and ordered an independent review after two failed attempts to put convicted murderer Christa Pike to death.
Anti-death penalty activists argue the situation in Tennessee should cause state leaders to reconsider capital punishment in the Hoosier State ahead of a planned Nov. 5 lethal injection of convicted child killer Jeffrey Weisheit.
“Clearly we can’t trust government to get it right every time,” Death Penalty Action Executive Director Abraham Bonowitz said.
Bonowitz and members of Death Penalty Action travel the country to hold vigils for people killed in executions and protest the death penalty. He was in Indiana for the execution of Benjamin Ritchie in 2025, and was in Tennessee during Pike’s failed execution this week.
While opposing the death penalty for a number of reasons, Bonowitz said it can also have the unintended consequence of focusing attention on the perpetrators of serious crimes rather than the victims, which he believes has happened in Tennessee.
“It just adds more to the circus that is the death penalty,” Bonowitz said.
Like Tennessee, Indiana uses a drug called pentobarbital to carry out lethal injections. Indiana has put three inmates to death over the last two years.
“There are issues with lethal injection drugs,” Indiana Abolition Coalition Executive Director Stefanie Anderson said.
Following Ritchie’s execution, his attorney Steven Shutte said Ritchie had a “violent” reaction when the state put him to death.
“He sat up and violently twitched for about three seconds (before dying),” Shutte said immediately after Ritchie’s execution.
The Indiana Department of Correction said there were no issues with Ritchie’s execution. And in a statement to Indiana’s I-Team, reaffirmed plans to put Weisheit to death.
“The Indiana Department of Correction is confident in its ability to carry out executions,” an IDOC spokesperson said.
Gov. Mike Braun’s office declined to say whether it’s asking IDOC to review policies and procedures ahead of Weisheit’s execution.
Advocates hope Indiana follows Tennessee’s lead and puts a pause on lethal injections.
“If you’re going to do it, the people who are deciding the public policy should be in the front row pushing the button,” Bonowitz said.
The Indiana Parole Board will hold a pair of clemency hearings for Weisheit, scheduled for October 16 and 19, as he asks to avoid the death penalty.
