Indiana death row inmate Jeffrey Weisheit has asked the state’s highest court to delay his execution from November 5 to November 19. The request, filed in two emergency motions with the Indiana Supreme Court on Monday, seeks a two-week postponement to allow experts to analyze brain scans. Weisheit's attorneys contend these scans would provide Gov. Mike Braun with a more complete account of his impairments before the governor decides on clemency.
The motions specifically ask the justices to direct Indiana State Prison officials to transport Weisheit to a nearby medical imaging center for the scans. The lawyers are also seeking to postpone Weisheit's clemency proceedings by two weeks. The Indiana Parole Board is currently scheduled to interview Weisheit on Friday and hear public testimony on Monday.
Gov. Mike Braun indicated on Tuesday that he wants the information from the proposed testing available for consideration in Weisheit’s clemency case. “We’d want it so we could take it under consideration,” Braun said, adding that his legal team representing the state would then review and advise him. The Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) acknowledged Weisheit’s filing and stated it is prepared to follow any court order it receives, according to Chief Legal Officer Anna Quick. The department noted it typically relies on court orders for transportation requests outside its normal course of business, except for emergencies or medical care ordered by its own providers.
The request comes just days before an October 15 deadline for written clemency materials. Weisheit's attorneys argue that additional imaging and expert analysis could help establish that brain injuries affecting his behavior preceded the 2010 murders of 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and her 5-year-old brother, Caleb, in their Evansville home. Weisheit was convicted in 2013 for the children's deaths in a fire. The Indiana Supreme Court set his execution date in August, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June to decline reviewing his case.
The legal team, which includes Joseph C. Welling of Phillips Black and Indiana Public Defender Amy E. Karozos, argues that evidence concerning Weisheit’s brain injuries, mental illness, and childhood trauma was not adequately developed or presented during his trial and appeals. They are now seeking to present this evidence to Gov. Braun, who will make the final clemency decision after receiving the parole board’s recommendation. The attorneys stated in their motion to reschedule proceedings that "a 14-day extension would realistically afford a narrow but sufficient window" to develop this critical evidence.
The current obstacle is securing transport for Weisheit from Indiana State Prison to the Franciscan Health Diagnostic Imaging Center in Michigan City for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans. U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker had approved funding for defense investigative services, including brain imaging and expert analysis, on September 16. However, Judge Barker denied a federal transportation request on October 7, stating she lacked the authority to order prison officials to transport Weisheit for scans intended for a state clemency proceeding. Attorneys from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office had opposed the federal request, arguing the court's authority to fund clemency work did not extend to compelling prison officials to transport an inmate in a closed case. Judge Barker clarified that while she pre-approved funding, her order did not compel state officials to ensure the scans took place.
Weisheit’s defense team has now turned to the Indiana Supreme Court, arguing that a state transportation order is necessary to allow Weisheit to present relevant information to the parole board. His attorneys emphasized that "absent a transport order to secure the brain imaging, this reporting would be unavailable." They are asking the justices to require transportation within five days of an order, coordinated between the prison and the imaging facility, which has indicated appointments could be arranged on approximately three days’ notice. The request also specifies that metal restraints cannot be used in the scanning room due to the equipment’s powerful magnets.
This request for new imaging is part of a longstanding dispute regarding the extent and timing of Weisheit’s brain injuries. His attorneys contend that he experienced repeated head injuries during childhood and early adulthood, coupled with mental illness and abuse. They assert these impairments affected his behavior well before the killings, further complicated by another head injury sustained during his arrest. Earlier MRI and PET scans were performed in 2012. The defense now seeks new imaging and more detailed analysis to evaluate damage that might not be visible through a simple visual reading of older scans.
A 2021 declaration from Ruben Gur, a University of Pennsylvania professor specializing in brain function and behavior, was included in Monday’s filings. Gur stated that quantitative analysis can identify abnormalities not readily visible and compare them with a database of other brains. When combined with neuropsychological testing and a person's history, this analysis, Gur explained, could help distinguish older injuries from damage sustained during Weisheit’s arrest. Gur wrote, "There is a substantial likelihood that this data... will show that Mr. Weisheit’s brain abnormalities pre-dated his arrest." He further explained that such integration could provide strong evidence of correlations between a person's life history behavior and documented brain abnormalities. The Indiana Supreme Court, in a 2018 opinion, had previously questioned the reliability of Gur's testimony regarding earlier concussions or lasting injuries, citing a state expert who found medical evidence did not establish traumatic brain injuries other than the one sustained during Weisheit’s arrest. The state’s highest court had also rejected Weisheit’s challenge to his sentence based on brain-injury evidence presented during post-conviction proceedings in 2018. Weisheit’s lawyers clarify that this current request for more time for brain scans is separate from an anticipated challenge to the execution method and a separate stay request tied to further post-conviction proceedings.
