Benjamin Ritchie, 45, had been on Indiana’s death row since 2002, when he was convicted of killing Beech Grove Police Officer Bill Toney during a chase on foot.

Benjamin Ritchie, 45, had been on Indiana’s death row since 2002, when he was convicted of killing Beech Grove Police Officer Bill Toney during a chase on foot.

Ritchie was executed at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, according to Indiana Department of Correction officials.

IDOC said in a statement that the process started shortly after midnight and Ritchie was pronounced dead at 12:46 a.m.

Ritchie’s last meal was from the Olive Garden and he expressed love, support and peace for his friends and family, according to the statement.

Under state law, he was allowed five witnesses at his execution, which included his attorney Steve Schutte, who told reporters he had a limited view of the process.

“I couldn’t see his face. He was lying flat by that time,” Schutte said. “He sat up, twitched, laid back down.”

The process was carried out hours after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the case, exhausting all of Ritchie’s legal options to fight the death sentence.

Dozens of people, both anti-death penalty advocates and supporters of Toney, stood outside the prison until early Tuesday.

Indiana resumed executions in December after a year’s long hiatus due to a scarcity of lethal injection drugs nationwide.

Prison officials provided photos of the execution chamber before Joseph Corcoran’s execution, showing a space that looks like an operating room with a gurney, fluorescent lighting and an adjacent viewing room.

They’ve since offered few other details.

Among the 27 states with death penalty laws, Indiana is one of two that bars media witnesses.

The other, Wyoming, has conducted one execution in the last half-century.

The Associated Press and other media organisations filed a federal lawsuit in Indiana seeking media access, but a federal judge denied a preliminary injunction last week that would have allowed journalists to witness Ritchie’s execution and future ones.

The judge found that barring the news media doesn’t violate the First Amendment nor does it single out the news media for unequal treatment.

The execution in Indiana is among 12 scheduled in eight states this year.

Ritchie’s execution and two others in Texas and Tennessee will be carried out this week.

Ritchie was 20 when he and others stole a van in Beech Grove, near Indianapolis.

He then fired at Toney during a foot chase, killing him.

At the time Ritchie was on probation from a 1998 burglary conviction.

Toney, 31, had worked at the Beech Grove Police Department for two years.

The married father of two was the first officer of the small department to be killed by gunfire in the line of duty. (AP/NAN)

Member states of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday adopted a new pandemic treaty aimed at avoiding the panic and disarray seen during the COVID-19 crisis.

The agreement was accepted without a formal vote on the second day of the members’ annual World Health Assembly in Geneva.

As the conference chair asked whether there were any objections, silence followed, prompting him to declare the treaty adopted by consensus.

The treaty outlines measures for coordinated procurement of protective equipment during future pandemics, enhanced monitoring of diseases in both animals and humans.

There should also be the transfer of medical technology to ensure that medicines and vaccines can be produced in low-income countries.

However, several contentious details remain unresolved and are set to be negotiated separately over the next year as part of an annex to the treaty.

These include a new mechanism to accelerate vaccine production and ensure equitable distribution to poorer nations. (dpa/NAN)

 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday said that the organisation would never forget the staff members killed in the Aug. 19, 2003, attack on its headquarters in Iraq.

Guterres was speaking during a wreath-laying ceremony at a memorial in Baghdad to honour the victims of the Canal Hotel bombing – the worst terrorist attack in UN history.

Twenty-two people were killed, including the then UN Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello.

Guterres told the audience that “22 years is a long time, but we will never forget the colleagues who were killed that day in the bombing at the Canal Hotel.

These staff members “were sons, daughters, mothers, fathers and friends who are, to this day, mourned by those they knew and loved,” he said.

“We will always remember their leader, Sergio Vieira de Mello, who was also killed in the attack. We will stand with the survivors whose lives were changed forever,” he added.

“And we will remember the courageous colleagues and others who rushed to help on that terrible day, and in the days and weeks after — showing us the very best of the humanitarian spirit.”

Guterres said the memorial stands as a tribute to their lives and their contributions to the people of Iraq.  It also serves as a reminder of how far the country has come since 2003.

The UN chief noted that the women and men of the United Nations had worked tirelessly together with the brave and resilient people of Iraq to support their quest for stability, development and peace.

He stressed that above all, the memorial is “a clear reminder of the vital work that our organisation does around the world — and the dangers our people face in carrying out that work.”

This date “has been forever transformed from a day of unimaginable horror and tragedy here in Iraq into a global day of solemn remembrance for all humanitarians — inside and outside the organisation,” Guterres said.

“Their bravery, dedication, and belief that a better future is possible will always inspire us. And like those whose lives were lost on August 19, 2003, their sacrifices and contributions to our world — and to our vital cause of peace — will never be forgotten.”

The secretary-general was in Baghdad to attend the League of Arab States Summit. He also met with senior Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani.

During talks on Sunday, they discussed developments in Iraq and the region, as well as the remaining period of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

The secretary-general reaffirmed that the UN remained fully committed to continuing to support the Government and people of Iraq following the mission’s departure.

UNAMI has been in the country since 2003 and is working to conclude its mandate by the end of 2025. (NAN)