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CHICAGO — <\/span>CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 Indiana will put to death a man who was convicted in the 2001 rape and murder of a teenage girl, the state\u2019s third execution since resuming<\/a> capital punishment last year. <\/p>\n The execution of Roy Lee Ward is scheduled before sunrise Friday at the state prison in Michigan City, Indiana. The 52-year-old has exhausted his legal options to challenge the sentence.<\/p>\n Ward\u2019s execution by lethal injection comes amid questions about Indiana\u2019s handling of pentobarbital<\/a>, the drug it has used in recent executions.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a closer look at the case:<\/p>\n Authorities say Ward entered the home of 15-year-old Stacy Payne on July 11, 2001, raped her and struck and stabbed the girl repeatedly with a dumbbell and a knife. She was airlifted from her town of Dale to a hospital and died hours later.<\/p>\n Matt Keller, former town marshal, discovered Stacy and arrested Ward who was still at the home. <\/p>\n \u201cI cannot imagine the immense pain, suffering, and sheer terror that Stacy experienced during the last moments of her young life,\u201d Keller said at Ward\u2019s clemency hearing in Indianapolis last month.<\/p>\n Payne\u2019s death rocked the southern Indiana community, which is home to about 1,500 people. Her father still lives at the house, her Raggedy Ann doll collection untouched. <\/p>\n A nearby church has planned a prayer vigil to honor the girl hours before the execution \u201cwith the sharing of cherished memories.”<\/p>\n Ward\u2019s case has wound through the courts for decades. He was found guilty of murder and rape in 2002 and sentenced to death. But the Indiana Supreme Court overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial.<\/p>\n Ward then pleaded guilty in 2007. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case in 2017. <\/p>\n Two years later, he sued Indiana<\/a> seeking to halt all executions. He argued that Indiana’s manner of carrying out \u201ccapital punishment is arbitrary” and “offensive to evolving standards of decency.\u201d<\/p>\n The Indiana Supreme Court declined to stay the execution last month. That\u2019s also when Gov. Mike Braun rejected Ward\u2019s clemency after board members noted the killing\u2019s \u201cbrutal nature.\u201d <\/p>\n Arguing against clemency, the state’s attorneys mentioned Ward\u2019s criminal history, including indecent exposure charges and a robbery conviction.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is a murderer and a rapist,\u201d Deputy Attorney General Tyler Banks told the parole board. \u201cHe\u2019s also predatory and manipulative.\u201d<\/p>\n Ward has exhausted his legal avenues, attorneys said. <\/p>\n \u201cHe is pretty resigned to the fact that it\u2019s happening and has been for awhile,\u201d said Joanna Green, one of Ward\u2019s attorneys. \u201cHe said, \u2018If I could take every bit of the pain I caused with me, I would.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Indiana resumed executions in 2024 after a 15-year hiatus. State officials said they’d been able to obtain drugs used in lethal injections that had been unavailable for years.<\/p>\n But those drugs came at a high cost, more than $1 million for four doses. In June, Braun said the state wouldn’t immediately buy more, raising questions about if Indiana would consider a new execution method. The first-term Republican cited the high cost and short shelf life. <\/p>\n Ward\u2019s attorneys challenged the use of the drug in court, saying it can cause flash pulmonary edema, in which fluid rushes through quickly disintegrating membranes into lungs and airways, causing pain similar to being suffocated. They noted that witnesses to the May execution of Ben Ritchie<\/a> said the man lurched forward before he died. <\/p>\n \u201cThere are still a lot of unanswered questions about what happened during Ben\u2019s execution,\u201d Green said.<\/p>\n Among 27 states with death penalty laws, Indiana<\/a> is one of two that bar media witnesses. <\/p>\n Indiana Department of Correction officials confirmed Wednesday that the agency \u201chas enough pentobarbital to follow the required protocol\u201d for the execution but didn’t comment further. <\/p>\n Green said they discovered through their lawsuit that the pentobarbital to be used in Ward\u2019s execution is manufactured and not compounded. Ward’s attorneys said that means fewer concerns about the drug deteriorating quickly and they received assurances about proper handling of the drug, including temperature control. The lawsuit was dropped, as was another legal challenge over execution chamber conditions. <\/p>\n Relatives said Payne, who loved the song \u201cYou Are My Sunshine,\u201d was full of life.<\/p>\n An honor student and cheerleader, she was saving money from her pizzeria job, her mother Julie Wininger told the parole board.<\/p>\n \u201cStacy\u2019s life was so short but was filled with so much meaning,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Wininger tallies each of the 8,000 plus days since Payne\u2019s passing. She asked the parole board for justice to be carried out. <\/p>\n \u201cWe will never see Stacy smile again,\u201d Wininger said, crying. \u201cWe will never hear her voice, never have the joy of watching her grow into the incredible woman she was meant to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Ward, who declined interview requests through his attorneys, has said little publicly. <\/p>\n He didn\u2019t comment when sentenced in 2007. He also declined a parole board interview, saying he didn’t want to force the victim’s family travel to Michigan City. Attorneys also said he\u2019s remorseful but has a hard time expressing it. <\/p>\n Ward was recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, an issue attorneys had raised in challenges. <\/p>\n In a Sept. 17 affidavit, Ward said he declined a parole board appearance because “due to my learning disability and language impairments the messages I mean to convey are sometimes difficult for me to accurately express.\u201d<\/p>\n While behind bars, he lost relatives, including his mother who moved to Michigan City to be closer to him. Through a prison program, he took care of a cat named Sadie, who was rehomed ahead of his execution.<\/p>\n He\u2019s renewed his faith and was baptized in prison. He keeps close contact with spiritual advisers who say he’s expressed regret.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not hiding the fact that it happened,\u201d said Deacon Brian Nosbusch. \u201cHe\u2019s definitely a changed person.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n CHICAGO — CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 Indiana will put to death a man who was convicted in the 2001 rape and murder of a teenage girl, the state\u2019s third execution since resuming capital punishment last year. The execution of Roy Lee Ward is scheduled before sunrise Friday at the state prison in Michigan City, Indiana. 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