The Indiana Parole Board has scheduled October hearings on Jeffrey Weisheit's request to avoid the death sentence imposed for killing two children in 2010. Weisheit’s bid to avoid execution is now headed to the board, which received his application and issued a hearing notice on Tuesday, less than two months before his scheduled Nov. 5 execution. Weisheit, who was convicted in the 2010 murders of siblings Alyssa and Caleb Lynch, is seeking commutation—a reduction of his death sentence. The board will consider his plea and subsequently make a recommendation to Gov. Mike Braun, who holds the final authority on the decision.
A prison hearing is slated for Friday, Oct. 16, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. This session will take place at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City and will provide Weisheit with an opportunity to speak directly with parole board members and answer their questions as they evaluate his request for a reduced sentence. Following this, the board will conduct public testimony on Oct. 19 at the Indiana Government Center conference rooms 1 and 2 in Indianapolis. Those supporting clemency will be able to present their case from 9 to 11 a.m., followed by testimony from those opposing the request from 1 to 3 p.m. These hearings are designed to help inform the board’s recommendation to the governor.
In the application, which Weisheit signed on Sept. 15, he contends that evidence relevant to his punishment was not fully presented during his original court proceedings. Specifically, the petition states that “Mr. Weisheit’s lifelong mental impairments including congenital dysfunctions and the effect of multiple brain traumas suffered throughout his life, beginning early in his childhood, and their mitigating effect on the crime were never adequately presented to the courts.” The application further asserts that evidence of childhood psychological trauma was not presented. Additionally, it claims that the COVID-19 pandemic blocked the investigation and presentation of such evidence in federal court.
Weisheit was originally sentenced to death in 2013 for killing 8-year-old Alyssa and 5-year-old Caleb, who were his girlfriend’s children. The murders occurred in a fire at their Evansville home, for which he was also convicted of arson. The Indiana Supreme Court ordered his execution on Aug. 28, with his death scheduled by lethal injection before sunrise at the Michigan City prison.
Although the Indiana Supreme Court upheld Weisheit's death sentence during a 2018 post-conviction appeal, Chief Justice Loretta Rush dissented on that particular issue. Chief Justice Rush concluded that ineffective legal representation warranted a new sentencing proceeding for Weisheit. Governor Braun has previously denied clemency requests for other individuals, specifically Benjamin Ritchie and Roy Lee Ward, before their executions which are scheduled for 2025. If Weisheit’s execution proceeds as scheduled, it would mark Indiana’s fourth execution since the state ended a 15-year pause in December 2024.