Indiana carries out first of 3 executions taking place on a single day in US
An Indiana man who admitted killing two children in a house fire was executed early Thursday in the first of three lethal injections scheduled for the same day in the US.Jeffrey Weisheit was convicted of setting a fire that killed his girlfriend’s two children, ages 8 and 5, at a home in the Evansville area in 2010, murders apparently related to the couple’s deteriorating relationship.Weisheit was executed at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, according to Noelle Russell, Indiana Department of Correction chief communications officer.He was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m.and had no final words, she said.Weisheit’s final meal was barbecue ribs, according to Russell.
Indiana bars media witnesses.Florida and Alabama were also set to carry out executions, which would mark the second time this year that three people would be put to death on the same day.The death penalty has faced renewed scrutiny following Tennessee’s failed execution of Christa Pike, although courts have rejected efforts to halt other executions since she survived two lethal doses of pentobarbital last month.It will be Florida’s 19th execution this year under Republican Gov.Ron DeSantis — matching a record set by the state in 2025 — but the first this year in Indiana, where the death penalty isn’t as common.Lawyers wanted Republican Gov.
Mike Braun to allow Weisheit, 50, to undergo brain scans in an effort to reinforce their argument that he has a history of head injuries and mental health problems.Braun declined, and he also turned down a request to reduce the sentence to life in prison.Weisheit’s latest objection centered on the state’s planned use of lethal drugs purchased from a pharmacy that is facing a disciplinary hearing next week at the Indiana Pharmacy Board.The Indiana Department of Correction said that it’s confident “in our ability to humanely carry out” the execution.In Florida, Jesse Guardado confessed and quickly pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing a 75-...