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One Indiana A man convicted of raping and murdering a teenage girl in 2001 was executed by lethal injection early Friday, the third execution in the state since the death penalty resumed last year.
Roy Lee Ward, 53, was scheduled to be executed before sunrise at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.
He was convicted and sentenced to death in the rape and murder of 15-year-old Stacey Payne. brutal crime that happened in the family home valleyThe earthquake shook the small community of about 1,500 people.
Lawyers said Ward had exhausted his legal options after several court battles.
His lawyer Joanna Green said, “He is deeply remorseful for this terrible crime.”
Ward’s execution comes amid questions about the handling of pentobarbital in Indiana. Last year state officials ended a 15-year moratorium on executions, saying they were able to obtain drugs used in lethal injections but which had been unavailable for years.
The Indiana Department of Corrections said it had obtained “enough pentobarbital to follow required protocols” for Ward’s execution. However, Ward’s attorneys have raised concerns about the drug’s use and how the state stored it, including temperature issues.
Ward’s expected execution in Indiana on Friday is the first of eight to be carried out in seven different US states in October. Death Penalty Information Center,
Of the 27 states with death penalty laws, Indiana is one of two states that prohibit media witnesses. Ward’s witness list includes lawyers and spiritual advisors.
His case has been going on in the courts for more than 20 years.
Ward was found guilty of the crimes in 2002 and sentenced to death. But he pleaded guilty in 2007, after the Indiana Supreme Court overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial. A decade later, the US Supreme Court declined to hear the case. In 2019, he sued Indiana, seeking to stop all pending executions.
Last month, the Indiana Supreme Court refused to grant a stay of executions and Gov. mike braun Ward’s clemency bid rejected.
Family members of the victim said they are ready to get justice, remembering Payne as an honors student and cheerleader with an impact beyond her short life.
“We no longer have family gatherings, the holidays are still empty. Birthdays are sad reminders of what we have lost,” his mother, Julie Winninger, told the parole board last month. “Our family has suffered emotional devastation.”
Ward, who declined interview requests through his lawyers, has said little publicly. He skipped the parole board interview for his clemency bid, saying he did not want to force the victim’s family to travel to prison and that he could not always say what he meant.
Lawyers say Ward was recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, which affects his ability to communicate.
One of his spiritual advisors, Deacon Brian Nosbush, said Ward has thought deeply about his actions.
“He knows he did it,” Nosbush said. “He knows it was horrific.”