Victims’ Father Urges Clemency for Indiana Death-Row Inmate

Jeffrey Weisheit, sentenced to death for killing 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and 5-year-old Caleb Lynch in a 2010 house fire, is scheduled for execution Nov. 5. As Indiana’s parole board considers his clemency request, the children’s father, Steven Lynch, has urged Gov. Mike Braun to commute the sentence to life without parole, saying execution would not honor his children’s memory. In a hearing, Weisheit apologized and described his religious conversion, but board members questioned his account of the murders, prison conduct and ability to manage anger and conflict. His attorneys are seeking brain scans and expert analysis, arguing that possible brain damage and mental illness were not adequately examined; they have also sought a brief execution delay. The parole board will make a nonbinding recommendation, and Braun will make the final decision.