Indiana executed Roy Lee Ward by lethal injection early Friday morning for the 2001 rape and murder of 15-year-old Stacy Payne in Spencer County.
Ward, 53, was pronounced dead at 12:33 a.m. at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, marking the state's third execution since resuming capital punishment in 2024 after a 15-year hiatus.
Ward was convicted of attacking Payne with a knife and dumbbell in her family's home near Dale on July 11, 2001. Authorities said Ward gained entry by telling the teenager he was looking for a lost dog while she was home alone with her younger sister.
The execution proceeded after Ward withdrew his final two federal lawsuits that had sought to delay his death sentence or challenge Indiana's lethal injection protocols. Ward's attorney said he was "very remorseful" about the crime.
Ward was originally convicted and sentenced to death in 2002. The Indiana Supreme Court later overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial. In 2004, Ward pleaded guilty and was again sentenced to death. His legal appeals continued for more than 20 years.
Governor Mike Braun declined Ward's clemency request in September. The Indiana Supreme Court ordered the execution date in August after determining Ward had no further grounds for appeal and no active stay was preventing his execution.
Ward's last meal included food from Texas Corral: a hamburger, steak melt, French fries, baked potato, fried shrimp, sweet potato, chicken alfredo and breadsticks. His final words were reportedly "Brian is going to read them," though the context was unclear.
The execution follows those of Joseph Corcoran in December 2024 and Benjamin Ritchie in May 2025. Indiana resumed executions last year after obtaining pentobarbital, the drug used in lethal injections that had been unavailable for years.
