Low Death Sentencing, Lack of Deterrence, and High Costs Raise Questions Over Capital Punishment in Indiana

Indiana’s seem­ing­ly para­dox­i­cal resump­tion of exe­cu­tions, with three over the last year, is draw­ing scruti­ny from many cor­ners of the state. Governor Mike Braun, leg­is­la­tors from both polit­i­cal par­ties, pub­lic defend­ers and even pros­e­cu­tors have raised ques­tions about the costs of pros­e­cut­ing cap­i­tal cas­es and obtain­ing drugs for exe­cu­tions; the fail­ure of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment to deter crime; and the increas­ing reluc­tance of Indiana juries to sen­tence defen­dants to death in the rare cas­es in which death sen­tences are sought.

With five indi­vid­u­als under sen­tences of death, all of whom were all sen­tenced pri­or to 2013, Indiana has the fifth small­est death row pop­u­la­tion in the coun­try. Capital pros­e­cu­tions remain rare. According to report­ing by the Indiana Capital Chronicle, ​“local juris­dic­tions are increas­ing­ly weigh­ing when [cap­i­tal] charges are best pur­sued com­pared to life-with­out-parole sen­tences, espe­cial­ly giv­en the legal costs and the length of appeals.” State data researched by the Chronicle indi­cates that there have been no more than three cap­i­tal cas­es filed in any of the past five years, a sharp drop from the 1990s ​“when mul­ti­ple cap­i­tal pros­e­cu­tions often ran simul­ta­ne­ous­ly[.]” No death sen­tences were sought in 2025, and only one was sought in 2024, two in 2022 and 2023 respec­tive­ly, and three in 2021. None of these cas­es result­ed in a death sentence. 

Indiana also has a high rate of resen­tenc­ing for death-sen­tenced indi­vid­u­als. More than 70% of those sen­tenced to death in Indiana in the mod­ern death penal­ty (105) era have been resen­tenced to life in prison or less (70). Two death-sen­tenced indi­vid­u­als in Indiana have been exonerated. 

Executions are rare in states with sim­i­lar­ly small death rows like Indiana’s. Montana, with two indi­vid­u­als on death row, has not exe­cut­ed any­one in almost 20 years. New Hampshire, which abol­ished the death penal­ty in 2019, still has one indi­vid­ual on death row, but has not exe­cut­ed any­one in the mod­ern death penal­ty era (post- Furman). Utah, with six indi­vid­u­als on death row, car­ried out its first exe­cu­tion in almost 15 years in 2024. 

Similar to Utah, Indiana’s recent string of exe­cu­tions fol­lows a long (four­teen-year) pause. Two exe­cu­tions in one year is unusu­al for the state. In the last 45 years, Indiana exe­cut­ed 23 indi­vid­u­als — and in only two years (2005 and 2025) — was more than one exe­cu­tion car­ried out in the same year. Joseph Corcoran was exe­cut­ed in December 2024. Mr. Corcoran waived his appeals and ​“vol­un­teered” for exe­cu­tion despite three sep­a­rate psy­chol­o­gists diag­nos­ing him with para­noid schiz­o­phre­nia. Benjamin Ritchie was exe­cut­ed on May 20, 2025, and expe­ri­enced what many believe was a botched exe­cu­tion. Roy Lee Ward was exe­cut­ed on October 10, 2025. No exe­cu­tion dates have been set for any of five remain­ing men on the state’s death row.

The cost of exe­cu­tions has sparked debate in the state. Gov. Braun dis­closed the state spent $1.175 mil­lion on drug sup­plies over the past two years. The chair of Indiana’s Prosecuting Attorney Council’s Complex Litigation Committee, Jeremy Mull, reminds that exe­cu­tion costs are only part of the over­all cost of pros­e­cut­ing cap­i­tal cas­es: ​“These cas­es can run into the mil­lions of dol­lars over time.” 

Several state stud­ies sup­port this view. A 2010 review by the non­par­ti­san Legislative Services Agency found that a death penal­ty case in Indiana costs five times more than a case seek­ing to impose life with­out parole. A more recent analy­sis by the Agency, com­piled in response to House Bill 1030, intro­duced in January 2025, found that cap­i­tal cas­es cost the state on aver­age eight times more than life with­out parole cas­es ($290,022 ver­sus $36,173). The author of HB 1030, Republican Caucus Member Robert Morris, argues that the high costs of cap­i­tal cas­es is cause to abol­ish the death penal­ty in the state. Rep. Morris has also been out­spo­ken about the fail­ure of the death penal­ty to deter crime: ​“The real­i­ty is, exe­cu­tions don’t stop these heinous crimes.” The leg­is­la­tion has attract­ed bipartisan support.