Braun Declines Brain Scans for Death Row Inmate Ahead of Execution

Gov. Mike Braun’s administration will not allow death row inmate Jeffrey Weisheit to undergo additional brain scans before his scheduled Nov. 5 execution, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle. The outlet reported that the governor’s general counsel, Stephanie Flittner, met with Weisheit’s legal team Wednesday to discuss the testing and his pending clemency request.

The Indiana Parole Board unanimously recommended Wednesday that Braun deny clemency, The Associated Press reported. The board said Weisheit’s mental health information “does not greatly distinguish his situation from a vast majority of incarcerated individuals.” Weisheit was convicted of murder in a 2010 house fire near Evansville.

His attorney, Joseph Perkovich, had asked for MRI and PET scans and said in a statement that the jury decided Weisheit’s fate without reliable scientific information about his head injuries. The Indiana Supreme Court refused last week to postpone the execution but said the executive branch could authorize scans without court approval, the Capital Chronicle reported.

Braun has not announced his final clemency decision. A separate informal request for a temporary reprieve over concerns about lethal injection procedures is pending, according to the Capital Chronicle.