Indiana executes killer, rapist of 15-year-old woman, its third execution since resuming them final 12 months

An Indiana man convicted within the 2001 rape and homicide of a teenage woman was executed by injection early Friday within the state’s third execution since resuming capital punishment final 12 months.

Roy Lee Ward, 53, was put to loss of life on the Indiana State Jail in Michigan Metropolis. Indiana Division of Correction stated in a press release that the method began shortly after midnight and Ward was pronounced lifeless at 12:33 a.m.

A guard stands in a tower at Indiana State Jail in December  2024, in Michigan Metropolis, Ind.

Erin Hooley / AP

Ward’s final meal was from Texas Corral and included a hamburger. His final phrases, as reported by the Indiana Division of Correction had been “Brian is going to read them,” nevertheless it was unclear precisely when he made the assertion.

He was convicted within the rape and homicide of 15-year-old Stacy Payne. Authorities stated Ward attacked the woman with a knife and dumbbell in her household’s dwelling close to Dale, about 30 miles east of Evansville. The crime rocked the small group of roughly 1,500 folks.

Ward had exhausted his authorized choices after greater than twenty years. His legal professional, Joanna Inexperienced, stated days earlier than the execution that Ward was “very remorseful” concerning the crime.

Ward’s execution got here amid questions on Indiana’s dealing with of the highly effective sedative pentobarbital. Final 12 months, state officers ended a 15-year pause on executions, saying they’d been capable of get hold of medication utilized in deadly injections that had been unavailable for years.

The Indiana Division of Correction stated it had obtained “enough pentobarbital to follow the required protocol” for Ward’s execution. Ward’s attorneys had raised issues about using the drug and the way the state saved it, together with temperature points.

Amongst 27 states with loss of life penalty legal guidelines, Indiana is one among two that bar media witnesses to executions. Ward’s witness listing included attorneys and religious advisers.

His case trailed by means of the courts for greater than 20 years.

Ward was convicted of the crimes in 2002 and sentenced to loss of life. However after the Indiana Supreme Courtroom overturned the conviction and ordered a brand new trial, he pleaded responsible in 2007. A decade later, the U.S. Supreme Courtroom declined to listen to the case. In 2019, he sued Indiana, searching for to cease all pending executions.

Final month, the Indiana Supreme Courtroom declined to remain the execution and Gov. Mike Braun rejected Ward’s clemency bid.

The sufferer’s members of the family stated they had been prepared for justice to be carried out, remembering Payne as an honor pupil and cheerleader with an affect past her brief life.

“Now our family gatherings are no longer whole, holidays still empty. Birthdays are sad reminders of what we lost,” her mom Julie Wininger instructed the parole board final month. “Our family has endured emotional devastation.”

Ward skipped the parole board interview for his clemency bid, saying he didn’t wish to pressure the sufferer’s household to journey to the jail and that he couldn’t at all times say what he meant. Attorneys say Ward was just lately recognized with autism spectrum dysfunction, which affected his potential to speak.

One in all his religious advisers, Deacon Brian Nosbusch, stated forward of the execution that Ward had thought deeply about his actions.

“He knows he did it,” Nosbusch stated. “He knows it was horrendous.”