Indiana to execute man convicted in 2001 teen murder
Indiana plans to execute Roy Lee Ward, 52, for the 2001 rape and murder of 15‑year‑old Stacy Payne; the lethal injection is scheduled before sunrise Friday at the state prison in Michigan City after the Indiana Supreme Court declined to stay the sentence and Governor Mike Braun denied clemency. Ward’s case has a long appellate history (convicted in 2002, conviction vacated and retrial ordered, guilty plea in 2007) and the execution comes amid state scrutiny over pentobarbital procurement, including reports the state paid more than $1 million for four doses.
Crime
Legal
📌 Key Facts
- Victim: Stacy Payne, 15; crime date: July 11, 2001; attacker: Roy Lee Ward
- Execution: scheduled before sunrise Friday at Indiana State Prison in Michigan City (reported Oct. 8, 2025)
- Legal history: convicted 2002, Indiana Supreme Court ordered new trial, pleaded guilty in 2007; U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case (2017); clemency denied by Gov. Mike Braun last month
- Lethal injection issues: pentobarbital used in recent executions; state paid more than $1 million for four doses and defense argued drug can cause painful pulmonary edema