The Indiana Supreme Court has ordered the final execution date for the man who raped and murdered a 15-year-old girl in Indiana in 2001.
Roy Ward’s execution is scheduled for Friday, October 10, before sunrise.
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On July 11, 2001, Ward pretended he was looking for a lost dog and convinced 15-year-old Stacy Payne to let him into her Dale, Indiana, home. Payne’s younger sister was the only other person present. When she noticed a man holding Stacy down, she called 911 and hid in a closet.
According to state records, Ward struck Stacy with a five-pound weight and slashed her with a knife. Ward was discovered at the house by the town marshal, covered in blood and holding a knife.
Stacy was flown to the University of Louisville Hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Ward has been sentenced to death twice. He successfully challenged his initial conviction, arguing that the venue should have changed. He pleaded guilty in his second trial but was still sentenced to death.
On June 27, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita requested that an execution date be scheduled. Ward’s lawyers asked for a 45-day extension to reply to that request on July 2.
Ward’s attorneys attacked the state’s dependence on a single, costly substance for lethal injections. According to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, the state spent $1 million on four doses of the medicine. Two of the doses expired prior to their use.
Ward’s attorneys claimed that buying the drugs without public bidding violated state law. They also claim that he will be in “severe pain” during the execution, which violates his Eighth Amendment rights.
The court did not rule on the challenges to Ward’s execution method but did state that because there is no present stay on Ward’s execution, there is no legal reason not to schedule an execution.
Ward’s lawyers are free to continue pursuing their challenge to the execution procedure, but it is unclear if they will be granted a stay of execution.
