In a major event that happened today, justice was finally served as a convicted felon was executed for the cold-blooded murder of a police officer.
See the tweet below.
After a 23-year wait, Beech Grove Police Officer Bill Toney’s family received closure when the killer was put to death by lethal injection, marking only the second execution in the state in 15 years.
The execution was carried out at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City today.
45-year-old Benjamin Ritchie had been on death row since 2002 after being convicted of shooting and killing Officer Toney during a foot chase following a vehicle theft.
The long-awaited execution came after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take his case, ending years of legal maneuvers that had delayed justice.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita stood firmly in support of the execution, stating that it honored Officer Toney’s sacrifice.
Similarly, conservative leaders in the state have consistently championed the rights of law enforcement and the need for serious consequences for those who attack police officers.
BREAKING: An Indiana man convicted in the fatal shooting of a police officer in 2000 has been executed by lethal injection in the state’s second execution in 15 years. https://t.co/Rt2S7DRuz0
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 20, 2025
The execution represents a significant step in Indiana’s return to implementing capital punishment after a hiatus caused by the scarcity of lethal injection drugs.
While liberal activists predictably gathered to protest the death penalty, supporters of Officer Toney and law enforcement advocates stood firm in their belief that justice required the ultimate penalty for the ultimate crime.
“It’s time. We’re all tired. It is time for this chapter of my story, our story, to be closed. It’s time for us to remember Bill, to remember Bill’s life, and not his death,” Dee Dee Horen, Officer Toney’s wife, said.
In a typical move to shield criminals from accountability, disability rights advocates attempted to stop the execution by claiming Ritchie’s alleged brain damage should have excluded him from the death penalty.
His attorneys also played the familiar cards of claiming “ineffective counsel” and citing fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and childhood lead exposure.
These tactics failed when both the Indiana Supreme Court and the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied last-minute requests to stop the execution.
Indiana Governor Mike Braun (R) stood strong against pressure, rejecting Ritchie’s clemency bid after considering the parole board’s recommendation and Ritchie’s prison violations.
Officer Toney was the first officer killed by gunfire in the line of duty in Beech Grove, a community of 14,000 people.
At the time of the murder, Ritchie was already on probation for a previous burglary conviction when he stole a van, fled from police, and ultimately shot Officer Toney during the chase.
Indiana law allowed the criminal five witnesses at his execution, including his attorney. Before his death, his last meal was from Olive Garden, and he reportedly expressed love and peace for his friends and family.
Though he claimed remorse for his actions in his final days, it is worth noting that this regret came only after 23 years of exhausting every possible legal avenue to avoid accountability.
The execution is one of 12 scheduled across eight states this year, with others planned in Texas and Tennessee this week.
For the family of Officer Toney, this execution brings long-overdue closure to a painful chapter that began when a criminal chose to take the life of a man who had dedicated himself to protecting his community.
