Ben Ritchie’s Final 24 Hours on Earth: Last Meal + Last Words + and Exact Time of Death 

Ben Ritchie’s Final 24 Hours on Earth: Last Meal + Last Words + and Exact Time of Death 

On May 20th, 2025, Benjamin Donnie Richie was put to death in Indiana. He had been on death row for almost 23 years. He is the famous cop killer in Indiana Death Row Penitentiary. Oh, before I forget, Americans don’t forgive a cop killer. Maybe he would have been granted a clemency or stay of execution. In this video, we’ll talk about his last meal, his last words, the visitation and rejected appeal, and how he ended up there.

 To understand, we need to go back to the beginning. It started on September 29th, 2000 in Beach Grove, Indiana. A white van was stolen from a gas station that evening. A police officer named Matthew Hickeyi saw the van soon after. There were three men inside. He checked the license plate and saw it was the stolen van. He called it in and the police chase began.

 Two more officers joined the chase. Robert Mercury and William Bill Tony. The van didn’t get far. It crashed in a neighborhood yard. The doors opened and two of the men ran. Officer Hickey caught one man, Michael Greer, but the other man, 20-year-old Benjamin Richie, ran through the neighborhood. Officer Bill Tony, chased him.

 What happened next would change everything. Officer Bill Tony chased Benjamin through backyards, over fences, and past sheds. Suddenly, Benjamin stopped, turned, and pulled out a 9mm gun. He fired five times. Bill was wearing a bulletproof vest, but one bullet hit just above it and struck his upper chest. Bill fired back once, but then he collapsed on the ground. His gun slipped from his hand.

Bill died right there one day before his 32nd birthday. He left behind a wife and two young daughters. He had only been a police officer for two years. After the shooting, Benjamin threw his wig and the gun into thick bushes. Somehow, he escaped into the night and went to a friend’s house, but the police were already looking for him.

 Over 100 officers, including SWAT teams and deputies, searched all night. Roads were blocked and neighborhoods were locked down. The search for Benjamin was very serious. No one was going home until they found him. Early the next morning, the police got a tip. They found Benjamin inside a house. This time, he did not run or fight.

 They arrested him without a problem. The house belonged to Michael Moody, the third man from the stolen van. They arrested him, too. The manhunt was over, but the real story was just beginning. Benjamin Donnie Richie was born on May 3rd, 1980. His early life was very hard. He never knew his real father.

 His mother, Marian Martin, had many problems. She used alcohol and drugs even while she was pregnant with Benjamin. She worked as a stripper and moved from place to place. When Benjamin was only 3 years old, his mother had already left him twice. Benjamin had many troubles as a child. He often acted out and struggled in school.

 By 9th grade, he dropped out. When he was 10, he was sent to a psychiatric hospital. Doctors said he had bipolar disorder and other problems caused by his difficult childhood. He needed help, but the system didn’t give him much. In August 1998, soon after he turned 18, Benjamin was arrested for burglary.

 He went to prison. By 2000, he was out, but he was still on probation. His life was not stable. He was still struggling. The bad times were not over. And on September 29th, 2000, everything changed again. After Benjamin was arrested for shooting officer Bill Tony, the court case began quickly.

 Marian County said they wanted the death penalty. Benjamin said the shooting was an accident. He said the gun slipped from his hand and fired by itself. One of his friends agreed. He said Benjamin never meant to shoot that he panicked during the chase. Benjamin was scared because he was on probation. He knew another arrest could send him back to prison for eight more years.

This fear, the friend said, caused Benjamin to lose control. But the jury did not accept this story. On August 10th, they found Benjamin guilty on all charges: murder, stealing a car, having an illegal gun, and resisting arrest. During the trial, Officer Bill Tony’s widow, DD, wanted justice. She said Benjamin should be executed.

 But Benjamin did not show respect. He laughed in court and interrupted DD. When she called him a coward, he called her a bad name. He never said sorry. Benjamin’s lawyers tried to save him. They said his mother’s drug use caused brain damage. They said he grew up in a broken home and had no chance. They told the court he was a broken boy who became a broken man.

 But the jury did not agree. They saw a killer, not a victim. A tattoo on Benjamin’s neck was important. It was the number 37, Officer Tony’s unit number. This showed Benjamin was proud of what he did. He wanted to remember the shooting forever. The jury saw this as proof he was dangerous. On August 14th, after only 3 hours of talking, the jury decided Benjamin would be sentenced to death.

 He was sent to Indiana’s death row. For most people, this would be the end. But Benjamin’s story was not finished. Far away in Sweden, a woman named Ivana saw a show about people on death row. She noticed Benjamin’s story. She felt something she could not explain. Ivana started writing letters to Benjamin. Their letters became long talks.

 Soon, Ivana flew to Indiana to meet him. They talked through glass and somehow fell in love. Ivana visited Benjamin many times over 4 years. The prison allowed her visits even though Benjamin was on death row. Indiana’s death row is unusual. Benjamin had a real cat living in his cell. The prison lets death row inmates keep cats to help them feel less lonely and behave better.

 Benjamin tried many times to change his sentence. He asked for mercy, saying he was sorry. He said he was not the same man who shot officer Tony. He said he wanted to do good things with his life. But no one listened. On May 20th, 2025, at 44 years old, Benjamin was executed by lethal injection. For his last meal, he chose the tour of Italy from Olive Garden.

 That means chicken parmesan, lasagna, and fetuccini alfredo. Just after midnight, the execution began. Benjamin’s last words were quiet and simple. He said he loved his family, friends, and supporters. He hoped they all find peace. At 12:46 a.m., Benjamin was declared dead. The execution was witnessed by a small group of people.

 There were prison officials who made sure everything was done by the rules. A spiritual adviser was there to offer comfort and support. Some of Benjamin’s close family members and legal representatives attended, too, watching silently as the process took place. The room was quiet and solemn, filled with mixed feelings, sorrow, grief, and the heavy weight of justice served.

 At a recent clemency hearing asking for mercy, Richie described the night of Tony’s murder as a train that left the station with no breaks. Multiple bad decisions led to the loss of the life of a man who should be here today without the horrible actions that I took that night. He said, “There’s not a night that goes by I don’t think about that person. I’m so sorry for that