Indiana executes man as Florida and Alabama prepare same-day lethal injections

Jeffrey Weisheit, 50, was executed by lethal injection early Thursday at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. He was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m. and had no final words, according to Noelle Russell of the Indiana Department of Correction. His last meal was barbecue ribs.

Weisheit admitted to setting a house fire in the Evansville area in 2010 that killed his girlfriend’s two children, ages 8 and 5. Prosecutors linked the killings to the couple’s deteriorating relationship. His lawyers asked Governor Mike Braun to grant clemency, citing a history of head injuries and mental health problems, and requested brain scans to support their argument.

“He had no final words.”

Braun declined both the clemency request and the request to reduce the sentence to life in prison. Weisheit also objected to the state’s plan to use lethal drugs purchased from a pharmacy facing a disciplinary hearing next week at the Indiana Pharmacy Board.

Florida and Alabama were also scheduled to carry out executions on Thursday for killings during home robberies involving older adults. Florida’s execution would be its 19th this year under Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, matching a record set in 2025.

The day would mark the second time this year that three people are put to death on the same day in the United States. The executions come amid renewed scrutiny of the death penalty after Tennessee’s failed execution of Christa Pike in September, when she survived two doses of pentobarbital. Courts have since rejected efforts to halt other executions.