A CONVICTED murderer who raped and killed a 15-year-old girl more than two decades ago has been executed by lethal injection, bringing an end to a case that haunted a small Midwestern community.
The death marked the third execution since the state resumed capital punishment last year.
Roy Lee Ward who raped and murdered a 15-year-old girl in 2001 was executed more than two decades laterFOX59 News
Stacy Payne’s killing horrified the small southern Indiana town of Dale in 2001FOX59 News
Roy Lee Ward, 53, was pronounced dead at 12:33 am Friday after receiving a fatal dose of drugs at the Indian State Prison in Michigan City.
The execution began shortly after midnight, according to the Indiana Department of Correction.
Ward was convicted for the 2001 rape and murder of Stacy Payne, whose killing horrified the small southern Indiana town of Dale, about 30 miles east of Evansville, CBS News reported.
Authorities said Ward broke into the Payne family home, attacked Stacy with a knife and a dumbbell, and stabbed her multiple times.
She died hours later from her injuries.
Police found Ward still holding a knife when they arrived, according to investigators.
The case shook the rural community of roughly 1,500 people, sparking national headlines at the time.
Ward’s execution capped more than 20 years of court battles.
His attorney, Joanna Green, said earlier this week that Ward was “very remorseful” and had accepted responsibility for his crimes.
Ward’s final meal came from Texas Corral and included a hamburger, prison officials said.
His last words were reportedly, “Brian is going to read them,” though it’s unclear what he meant or when he said it.
The execution came amid renewed scrutiny over Indiana’s use of the sedative pentobarbital in lethal injections.
State officials ended a 15-year pause on executions last year after securing enough of the drug to resume the death penalty.
The Department of Corrections confirmed it had “enough pentobarbital to follow the required protocol” for Ward’s execution.
Executions in the US
Active Death Penalty States: 27 states currently allow capital punishment.
Recent Trend: Executions have been slowly declining nationwide over the past decade.
Methods Used: Lethal injection remains the primary method, though some states permit alternatives like electrocution or nitrogen gas.
Leading States: Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida carry out the highest number of executions.
Federal Executions: The federal government reinstated executions in 2020 after a 17-year hiatus, but has not conducted any since 2021.
2025 Numbers: As of October, 34 executions have been carried out across the US this year
Ward’s defense team had questioned how the state stored the drug and raised potential temperature concerns.
Indiana is one of only two states with death penalty laws that prohibit media witnesses during executions.
Ward’s witness list included his lawyers and spiritual advisers.
He was first convicted in 2002 and sentenced to death, but the Indiana Supreme Court later overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial.
Ward pleaded guilty in 2007 and was again sentenced to die.
The US Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal a decade later, and in 2019, Ward filed a lawsuit trying to halt all executions in the state.
Last month, the Indiana Supreme Court denied his final appeal, and Governor Mike Braun refused to grant clemency.
Ward chose not to attend his parole board interview, saying he didn’t want to make Payne’s family travel to the prison.
His attorneys said he had recently been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, which affected how he expressed himself.
Deacon Brian Nosbusch, one of Ward’s spiritual advisers, said Ward had spent years reflecting on his crime.
“He knows he did it,” Nosbusch said. “He knows it was horrendous.”
At the clemency hearing, Payne’s mother, Julie Wininger, described the lasting pain her family has endured.
“Now our family gatherings are no longer whole, holidays still empty. Birthdays are sad reminders of what we lost,” she told the board.
Wininger said her daughter had been an honor student and cheerleader who brought joy to everyone around her.
Ward’s death marks Indiana’s latest execution since resuming the death penalty after years of legal and logistical hurdles.
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