INDIANAPOLIS, IN - On Friday, June 27th, the Indiana Attorney General's Office asked that 52-year-old Roy Lee Ward be given an execution date after being sentenced to death in 2007 for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old in 2001.
Over the years, the AG's office has reportedly requested the Indiana Supreme Court to issue an execution date for Ward, according to WTHR. If approved, Ward's execution would be the third in Indiana since December 2024 after a 15-yeat hiatus.
Joseph Corcoran was executed in December 2024 and Benjamin Ritchie was put to death by lethal injection in May 2024. Indiana has spent over $1 million for four doses of the lethal injection drug. Two were used and the other two have already expired. The drug has a 90-day shelf life, according to Governor Mike Braun.
"I'm not going to be for putting that (lethal injection drug) on the shelf and then letting them expire," Braun said. The governor has also expressed openness to ending the death penalty in the state of Indiana. "There are legislators that wonder if it's still relevant," Braun said.
"I'm going to listen to them, the courts, and the broader discussion in general that'll be happening across the country," Braun added. Each dose is estimated to cost $600,000."
"We are stunned that they have moved for a date given the very public statements of the governor that the cost is something that should be explored and that this is something the governor wanted the legislature to look at," defense counsel Larry Komp said in a statement to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
Ward was originally convicted and sentenced to death in 2002, but the state's high court justices overturned the verdict due to "prejudicial pre-trial publicity." The case went back to the lower court, where Ward later pleaded guilty and a second jury again sentenced him to death in 2007.
The Indiana Supreme Court previously set Ward's execution for December 11, 2012, but that date was automatically stayed due to ongoing federal appeals.
No new execution date was set while those legal challenges remained unresolved in the courts. Ward has since exhausted all state and federal appeals.
"Governor Braun is aware of the filing," the governor's office said in a statement.
"Once the date is set by the court, the governor will order the Department of Corrections to begin the necessary preparations and have his legal team begin reviewing the case details as the case moves through the final appeals process."
Court records show that Ward attacked the victim, Stacy Payne, after she answered the door of her Dale, Indiana, home shortly after noon on July 1, 2001.
Her younger sister heard screams and called 911. Police arrived within minutes and found Ward standing in the doorway of the home, holding a knife. He was arrested at the scene.
Payne later died from severe injuries, including stab wounds and disembowelment.
Over the years, the AG's office has reportedly requested the Indiana Supreme Court to issue an execution date for Ward, according to WTHR. If approved, Ward's execution would be the third in Indiana since December 2024 after a 15-yeat hiatus.
Joseph Corcoran was executed in December 2024 and Benjamin Ritchie was put to death by lethal injection in May 2024. Indiana has spent over $1 million for four doses of the lethal injection drug. Two were used and the other two have already expired. The drug has a 90-day shelf life, according to Governor Mike Braun.
"I'm not going to be for putting that (lethal injection drug) on the shelf and then letting them expire," Braun said. The governor has also expressed openness to ending the death penalty in the state of Indiana. "There are legislators that wonder if it's still relevant," Braun said.
"I'm going to listen to them, the courts, and the broader discussion in general that'll be happening across the country," Braun added. Each dose is estimated to cost $600,000."
"We are stunned that they have moved for a date given the very public statements of the governor that the cost is something that should be explored and that this is something the governor wanted the legislature to look at," defense counsel Larry Komp said in a statement to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
Ward was originally convicted and sentenced to death in 2002, but the state's high court justices overturned the verdict due to "prejudicial pre-trial publicity." The case went back to the lower court, where Ward later pleaded guilty and a second jury again sentenced him to death in 2007.
The Indiana Supreme Court previously set Ward's execution for December 11, 2012, but that date was automatically stayed due to ongoing federal appeals.
No new execution date was set while those legal challenges remained unresolved in the courts. Ward has since exhausted all state and federal appeals.
"Governor Braun is aware of the filing," the governor's office said in a statement.
"Once the date is set by the court, the governor will order the Department of Corrections to begin the necessary preparations and have his legal team begin reviewing the case details as the case moves through the final appeals process."
Court records show that Ward attacked the victim, Stacy Payne, after she answered the door of her Dale, Indiana, home shortly after noon on July 1, 2001.
Her younger sister heard screams and called 911. Police arrived within minutes and found Ward standing in the doorway of the home, holding a knife. He was arrested at the scene.
Payne later died from severe injuries, including stab wounds and disembowelment.
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