Right now, five death penalty cases are
underway here in the state of Indiana.
Three of them involve police officers who
was shot and killed over the last two years,
Indianapolis officer Brianne Leith
Elwood officer Noah Shanavas and
Richmond Officer Sierra Burton.
So as prosecutors filed,
those cases are rich and I started
looking at the current sentences.
He found the state has inmates waiting 20,
even 30 years on death row.
Tonight, he examines the long wait.
D Horne still feels a close
connection with Beech Grove police.
She wanted to talk to me here. This
kind of became his official.
Yeah, I took this when he
graduated from the police Academy.
DVD's husband, officer Bill Tony,
died in the line of duty
September 29th, 2000.
Benjamin Ritchie shot Tony five times
during a foot chase over a stolen van.
Richie received the death sentence in 2002,
but more than 20 years later,
he still waits on death row.
All his appeals long exhausted.
Indiana has never scheduled
an execution date.
I would love to stop talking about it,
right. I mean, I would love to
just say that justice was served,
this this sentence was carried out.
I just don't really understand why we
have a sentence that's not carried out.
Eight men are on Indiana's death row,
but the state has not executed
anyone in over 13 years.
The governor's office and the Indiana
Department of Correction gave us
identical short explanations.
Indiana does not currently have
an inventory of lethal injection.
Drugs and continues to
explore ways to obtain them.
It seems like a cop out.
To be honest, I mean, it just seems,
I mean, how can it be that
hard in this day and age?
How can it be that hard?
I guess I don't really buy it.
Indiana is not alone. Nationwide,
death penalty cases and executions have
dropped steadily over the past 25 years.
The death Penalty Information Center also
reports that the time from sentencing
to execution keeps getting longer.
If there ever is an execution,
you know, maybe people think do the crime,
you get the punishment.
Anyone who's looked at it knows.
That's a myth. It's possible,
but but it's it's it's rare,
and it's getting rarer.
Meantime, the cost of prosecuting
these cases climbs higher.
I advise on cases around the state.
Indianapolis attorney Eric Koselka is a
death penalty case expert representing
defendants in state and federal cases
from trial to the Supreme Court.
He estimates a death penalty case
will cost a county about $1,000,000.
And I feel like we're wasting
lots of money, I feel like.
The victims in the cases,
the surviving relatives,
are actually in a lot of cases,
being victimized because I think
when the case is start out,
they're not aware of all
the appeals and all the the
hoops you have to go through
right now. The families of three
Indiana police officers shot and
killed face that long legal journey.
Prosecutors seek the death
penalty in all three cases.
The parents of Elwood police officer Noah
Shannon Velez lost their son July 31st.
They decided not to speak on camera
about this issue, but told 13 news.
We retain hope that in the state of Indiana,
when a jury speaks and when many
layers of the judiciary speak,
the legislative and executive branches
will ensure the will of the people
is carried out without undue delay,
a delay Deedee knows well.
She has shared her experience and
advice with Lori and Matt Chanez.
I want the families of other
police officers to know that yes,
we should seek the death penalty for.
People who kill a police officer.
But as far as the families go,
I just don't want it to be
part of their healing process.
Ohh, this is the little 1D's daughters
were just 18 months and four years
old when their father was killed.
They're adults now.
Deedee remarried and has a son, too.
She wants Ritchie executed
for justice, not closure.
You would do it again or if you
were in their shoes today. You
would still go for the death penalty,
even with the uncertainty.
I think we have to.
I think we have to send a
message that it's not OK to
to kill a police officer.
The death sentence
can only be given for
the most heinous murders,
including killing police officers,
children or multiple people.
Indiana's death row is at the state
prison in Michigan City. Who's been there
the longest? His name is Eric Holmes.
A lot of people might remember his crime.
In November 1989,
Holmes was fired from his job.
Shoney's and Castleton.
He came back the same night,
stabbed 3 employees and
robbed the restaurant,
and two people died.
So next month, homes will have waited
on Indiana's death row. 30 years,
30 years. That's the longest.
We have much more on the death penalty
at wthr.com who's on death row,
the pending death penalty cases
and the numbers nationally on
executions. Really interesting
story. Rich, thanks so much.