Jeffrey Weisheit, 50, was executed early on November 5 at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City for the murder of his girlfriend's two children, Alyssa Lynch, 8, and Caleb Lynch, 5. He requested barbeque ribs before the lethal injection and had no final words, according to Noelle Russell, Indiana Department of Correction chief communications officer. He was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m.
Crime and Conviction
Weisheit was convicted of setting a fire in 2010 that killed the children. An autopsy from the coroner's office found the children died of smoke inhalation, meaning they were alive when the fire was set, as reported by Courier and Press.
Lawyers had urged Republican Gov. Mike Braun to allow brain scans to support their argument that Weisheit had a history of head injuries and mental health problems. Braun declined, and 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 facing a disciplinary hearing next week at the Indiana Pharmacy Board. The Indiana Department of Correction said it is confident "in our ability to humanely carry out" the execution.
Other Executions Scheduled
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.
In Florida, Jesse Guardado, 64, was scheduled for execution for fatally stabbing a 75-year-old woman in her Walton County home in 2004 before stealing her jewellery box, $80, and other valuables to support his drug habit. The woman had helped him get a job and housing. A federal appeals court in 2024 said Guardado had received a "full and fair" hearing during the death penalty phase. Florida has carried out more than half of the 32 total executions in the U.S. so far this year, under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who leaves office in January.
Michael Taylor, 54, faces execution in Alabama, 35 years after fatally beating an older couple with a metal bar during a robbery in their Gadsden home. Police arrested the 19-year-old Taylor with the victims' Cadillac, an hour away in Birmingham. The execution would be the state's third this year. Death penalty opponents had urged Republican Gov. Kay Ivey to reduce Taylor's sentence to life in prison, noting his age and immaturity at the time of the killings, but she declined. Esther Brown of Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty said, "If the state kills Michael, it is not the 19-year-old who made the worst mistake of his life who it kills. But the mature, well-respected, God-fearing man sitting in that cell today."
The state plans to execute Taylor by lethal injection after a judge declared a nitrogen gas method unconstitutional. His attorneys objected to the last-minute switch since he had selected nitrogen gas several years ago, but a judge ruled against Taylor.
