The Indiana Parole Board has recommended that a death sentence remain in place for a man convicted of killing his girlfriend's two children in a house fire, just days before his scheduled execution by lethal injection on Nov. 5.
Jeffrey Weisheit, 50, is entitled under Indiana law to seek clemency and ask that his sentence be reduced to life in prison for his murder and arson convictions. The final decision belongs to Gov. Mike Braun. In a letter to the governor, board chairperson Gwendolyn Horth wrote, "We unanimously recommend that you deny Jeffrey Weisheit's request."
The board spent two days hearing testimony from Weisheit, lawyers, the children's parents and first responders who were at an Evansville home in 2010. There, the bodies of 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and 5-year-old Caleb Lynch were found in the ruins of the fire. Alyssa was in a closet. Caleb was on a mattress, restrained with duct tape, with a railroad flare in his underwear and another beneath his body.
Speaking to the board on Oct. 16, Weisheit said, "There is no excuse or explanation for what I did." He added that he wants to live and to improve the lives of other people in prison.
The children's mother, Lisa Lynch, had been in a relationship with Weisheit when the fire was set 16 years ago while she was at work. Tyler Banks, a lawyer with the Indiana attorney general's office, told the board that Weisheit had been eyeing an engagement ring before the relationship with Lynch began to fall apart. He then quit his job, withdrew money from the bank and canceled the ring order, telling the jeweler he would soon leave the country.
Lisa Lynch addressed the board by video and opposed clemency. "Clemency is meant for those who show genuine remorse and hold true value for human life," she said. "Nothing about the murder of my children showed mercy, humanity or remorse." The children's father, Steven Lynch, said he would accept a life sentence.
Weisheit's lawyer, Joseph Perkovich, acknowledged the "unspeakable" nature of the crimes when he appeared before the board on Oct. 19. He argued that Weisheit has a history of head injuries and mental health problems that did not receive enough attention at his 2013 trial. An email to Perkovich seeking comment on the board's recommendation was not immediately returned Wednesday.
The board said it weighed the information about Weisheit's mental health but concluded that it "does not greatly distinguish his situation from a vast majority of incarcerated individuals."
