From: mongo@biteme.com   
      
   https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2025/10/10/indiana-executes-roy-lee-   
   ward-for-2001-murder-of-teenager-stacy-payne/   
      
   Indiana executes Roy Lee Ward for 2001 murder of teenager Stacy Payne   
      
   No journalists were allowed as the state carried out its third execution   
   in less than a year.   
      
   By: Casey Smith   
   -   
   October 10, 2025  2:39 am   
      
   Death row inmate Roy Lee Ward was executed by lethal injection early   
   Friday morning at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, marking the   
   state’s second execution of 2025 and the third since resuming the death   
   penalty after more than a decade-long hiatus.   
      
   Indiana Department of Correction officials said in a statement that “the   
   execution process started shortly after” 12 a.m. Central Time and Ward,   
   53, was pronounced dead at 12:33 a.m. CT.   
      
   He was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2001 rape and murder of   
   15-year-old Stacy Payne in Spencer County.   
      
   It remains unclear, however, when exactly the execution drug was   
   administered, the amount of pentobarbital used, or who witnessed the   
   execution.   
      
   “Early this morning, the execution of Roy Lee Ward was carried out,   
   delivering accountability for the brutal rape and murder of 15-year-old   
   Stacy Payne on April 16, 2001,” said Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita   
   in an an early Friday statement. “Following his 2007 conviction and death   
   sentence, Ward’s case was thoroughly reviewed, culminating in the Indiana   
   Supreme Court setting his execution date and Governor Mike Braun rejecting   
   his request for clemency.”   
      
   “Today, we honor Stacy Payne’s memory and bring long-awaited closure to   
   her family and loved ones,” Rokita continued. “I extend my heartfelt   
   thanks to our office’s appeals team, who dedicated thousands of hours and   
   exceptional talent to upholding the jury’s verdict and ensuring the law   
   was enforced. The Indiana Department of Correction carried out this   
   sentence with utmost professionalism, reinforcing the state’s commitment   
   to protecting our communities from violent predators. Let this stand as a   
   resolute warning: those who commit such heinous crimes will face the full   
   weight of justice.”   
      
   The Indiana Capital Chronicle was not invited to witness Ward’s execution.   
   Ward’s defense team declined to provide specifics about the inmate’s   
   witness list but said no media were present in the witness room.   
      
   “ … for years Roy has told me that if his execution would make Stacy’s   
   family feel any better, that that is what he wants,”  Laura Volk, one of   
   Ward’s lawyers, said in a statement to the Capital Chronicle.   
      
   “Initially, I saw a sad, broken man. I assume that was how he felt because   
   of him coming to terms with what he had done to Stacy, her family and his   
   family and friends,” she added. “Throughout the years, I have witnessed a   
   transformation. He has become a person who is kind and generous to the   
   people around him. Clearly in prison, a person’s ability to help others is   
   severely limited. They have little and little is given to them. Through   
   the years, Roy has taken what he has and given it to others. I have   
   witnessed him help others in the small ways he can. It is a transformation   
   that our society hopes to happen while one is incarcerated.  In the 25   
   years I have been doing this work, I can say Roy is a different person   
   than when he went in.”   
      
   Ward’s execution came after years of legal appeals and recent, increased   
   scrutiny over the state’s secrecy surrounding lethal injection drugs.   
      
   Gov. Mike Braun’s office has refused to disclose how much the state paid   
   for the latest three sets of lethal injection drugs purchased by the   
   Department of Correction in recent months, however.   
      
   At least one of those sets of pentobarbital was expected to be used for   
   Ward’s execution. Any unused drugs will expire at the end of the month,   
   according to new court documents.   
      
   The governor previously disclosed that state officials spent $1.175   
   million on lethal injection doses over the past year — $600,000 of which   
   was spent by former Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration on drugs that   
   expired before use. The cost has been between $275,000 and $300,000 per   
   dose.   
      
   “Roy Lee Ward’s case has been heard and reviewed numerous times by both   
   state and federal courts, including the Indiana Supreme Court, since his   
   conviction in 2002. These reviews have never resulted in an overturned   
   sentence,” Gov. Mike Braun said in a statement. “The State Parole Board   
   issued a unanimous recommendation to deny Ward’s final appeal for clemency   
   and that his execution proceed as scheduled. Today, Ward’s sentence has   
   been carried out as ordered by the court.”   
      
   Ward’s final hours   
   Outside the prison Thursday night, a small group of anti-death penalty   
   advocates gathered to read scriptures and pray. Among them were members of   
   the Indiana Abolition Coalition and the Diocese of Gary.   
      
   Death Penalty Action, a nonprofit that advocates against executions,   
   loaned to protestors the “Delaware Bell,” which the group has rung outside   
   more than a dozen other executions.   
      
   The small, quiet protests have become a ritual at the Indiana State   
   Prison, where clergy and activists have gathered before each of the past   
   three executions to call for an end to capital punishment.   
      
   “Roy Ward can be held accountable and severely punished without executing   
   him,” said Abraham Bonowitz, executive director of Death Penalty Action.   
      
   DOC officials said Ward’s last meal was from Texas Corral and consisted   
   of: one hamburger, one steak melt, one order of French fries, one baked   
   potato with butter, one order of twelve fried shrimp, one sweet potato,   
   one order of chicken alfredo, and one order of breadsticks.   
      
   His last words were, “Brian is going to read them.”   
      
   The inmate’s lawyers withdrew the final two federal lawsuits that sought   
   to delay his execution after reaching an agreement with DOC that “ensures   
   compliance” with the state prison’s written execution protocol. The cases   
   were officially dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Northern   
   District of Indiana on Thursday.   
      
   Ward did not pursue a last-ditch reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court like   
   previous Indiana death row inmates. The nation’s high court justices   
   denied such efforts ahead of the state’s previous two executions.   
      
   The Indiana Parole Board recommended against clemency last month, citing   
   the “heinous” nature of Ward’s crime. Ward declined to be interviewed by   
   the board, but his defense team’s testimony emphasized a recent autism   
   spectrum disorder diagnosis and Ward’s expressions of remorse.   
      
   Braun subsequently allowed the execution to proceed.   
      
      
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