Gov. Braun declines to delay execution for convicted child killer

INDIANAPOLIS — Attorneys for Indiana death row inmate Jeffrey Weisheit have submitted a request to Gov. Braun to pause his execution, claiming the pharmacy that provided the lethal injection drugs is on indefinite probation.

Weisheit is scheduled to die by lethal injection before dawn Thursday for the 2010 murders of 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and 5-year-old Caleb Lynch in a Vanderburgh County arson.

In the request filed on Monday, Weisheit’s attorneys claim that the state purchased the lethal injection drug pentobarbitol from Pharmaneek, a pharmacy placed on indefinite probation by the Indiana Board of Pharmacy on March 31 for failing safety inspections and “unprofessional practices leading to drug contamination.”

A hearing scheduled on Nov. 9 would decide if Pharmaneek’s license would be terminated.

The request argues that the lethal injection drugs should come from reputable channels and not a pharmacy the “Attorney General’s Office seeks to shut down,” and pushes for an “independent investigation into the drugs’ quality and procurement.”

Joe Perkovich, one of Mr. Weisheit’s attorneys, said in a release, “It is alarming that the state purchased these drugs from a pharmacy it is trying to shut down due to major safety issues in the storage and management of drugs. The governor should pause executions and investigate its provider to ensure that execution drugs meet the basic standards required by law.”

Just after 4 p.m. on Monday, Gov. Braun announced he is denying clemency for Jeffrey Weisheit.

“I am accepting the Parole Board’s unanimous recommendation to deny clemency for Jeffrey Weisheit. The Indiana Department of Correction will continue preparations to carry out the court-ordered sentence of execution on November 5, 2026,” Braun said in a release.

News 8 reached out to the Indiana Department of Correction for comment and was provided this statement.

The Department of Correction is in compliance with Indiana laws that govern the confidential procurement of drugs utilized to carry out a court-ordered execution. We remain confident in our process and our ability to humanely carry out the lawfully imposed sentence for the murders of two innocent children.The Department of Correction is in compliance with Indiana laws that govern the confidential procurement of drugs utilized to carry out a court-ordered execution. We remain confident in our process and our ability to humanely carry out the lawfully imposed sentence for the murders of two innocent children.

IDOC

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