Gov. Mike Braun's administration will not allow death row inmate Jeffrey Weisheit to undergo additional brain scans before his scheduled execution next week, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
The decision follows weeks of legal efforts by Weisheit's attorneys to obtain more medical evidence for his clemency case. Braun's general counsel, Stephanie Flittner, met with Weisheit's legal team Wednesday to discuss the testing and his pending clemency request, and the governor had previously said he would consider medical evidence if it became available.
In a letter to Braun, attorney Joseph Perkovich requested transportation to Franciscan Health in Michigan City for MRI and PET scans so a University of Pennsylvania neuropsychologist could assess whether brain injuries preceded the 2010 killings. The Indiana Supreme Court last week refused to postpone the Nov. 5 execution or order transportation for testing, but said the executive branch could authorize the scans without court approval.
The Indiana Parole Board on Wednesday unanimously recommended that Braun deny Weisheit's request to commute his death sentence to life in prison, and Braun has not announced his final clemency decision. Questions also remain about the state's execution drug supply after the Department of Correction released a $275,000 invoice earlier this month without an updated inventory log confirming receipt.
Weisheit, 50, was sentenced to death in 2013 for killing two children in a house fire near Evansville. His execution remains scheduled for before sunrise Nov. 5 at Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.
