Pro-life supporters protest execution
of mentally ill man

Indiana Death Row inmate Bill J. Benefiel Jr., who was convicted of kidnapping, confining and raping two women and killing one of the rape victims in Terre Haute in 1987, was executed by chemical injection at 12:35 a.m. on April 21 at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, Ind.

Benefiel was convicted of kidnapping, confining and raping Delores Wells, an 18-year-old Terre Haute resident, for 12 days before murdering her on Feb. 17, 1987.

He also kidnapped and confined Alicia Elmore of Terre Haute for four months in the same house while raping her more than 60 times. She survived and served as a witness for the prosecution when Benefiel was tried in court nearly 20 years ago.

Benefiel was incarcerated on Death Row at the state penitentiary for nearly two decades.
More than 20 pro-life supporters gathered outside the Governor’s Residence on North Meridian Street in Indianapolis on the evening of April 20 to peacefully protest his execution and try to convince Gov. Mitch Daniels to commute Benefiel’s capital sentence to life in prison without parole.

Benefiel was diagnosed with a form of mental illness, a schizotypal personality disorder characterized by suspicion, hallucinations and inability to perceive reality.

St. Susanna parishioner Karen Burkhart of Plainfield, the Indiana death penalty abolition coordinator for Amnesty International, said during the pro-life prayer vigil on April 20 that she believes the state failed him as a child and that the years of sexual abuse he suffered during his childhood contributed to his mental illness as an adult.

Benefiel’s birth mother sold him for adoption to a woman who operated a brothel, and he was sexually abused during his childhood. As an adult, he was psychologically dominated by his mother and never held a job.

“I can never get over the thought that our state has abandoned some people who have mental problems,” Burkhart said. “We weren’t there for [Benefiel] when he was young. He didn’t get the help he needed as a child and now we’ve taken his life. We have totally abandoned him, not only as a child, but also as an adult. We’ve decided that he is not worthy of life, and that’s not right.”

Citing the cost of the appeals process in capital cases, Burkhart said she believes the state should authorize life in prison without parole for Death Row inmates and use the money spent on legal appeals to help children in at-risk living conditions.

“We should be spending our money on taking care of at-risk kids,” she said. “That’s what we need to be doing instead of killing adults. We can save the state money by not executing offenders. We need to be there for children in need. Instead of spending our money killing people, we should be spending our money saving our kids so this doesn’t happen.” †