Roy Lee Ward Executed for Spencer County Rape, Murder

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind — Indiana executed death row inmate Roy Lee Ward early Friday 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 Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.

Ward’s execution is the third in Indiana since the state resumed capital punishment last year. The process began shortly after midnight, following the dismissal of two federal lawsuits that were Ward’s final attempts to delay his execution or seek commutation of his death sentence.

Governor Mike Braun said Ward’s case had been reviewed multiple times by state and federal courts, including the Indiana Supreme Court, and all appeals had been denied. The State Parole Board unanimously recommended denying Ward’s final appeal for clemency.

Ward was convicted of attacking Payne in her family home near Dale with a knife and a dumbbell. He was sentenced to death in 2002, and after the Indiana Supreme Court ordered a new trial, he pleaded guilty in 2007. His legal appeals continued for more than 20 years, including a U.S. Supreme Court refusal to hear his case in 2017.

Ward’s last meal included a hamburger from Texas Corral. The Indiana Department of Correction said his execution used pentobarbital, the sedative required under state protocol. Ward’s attorneys had raised concerns about the drug and its storage. Indiana is one of two states that do not allow media witnesses at executions.