An Indiana man convicted in the 2001 rape and murder of a teenage girl was executed by injection in the state.
Roy Lee Ward was put to death at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, and the process started shortly after midnight, and Ward was pronounced dead at 12:33 a.m. on Friday, October 10.
Ward's last meal was from Texas Corral and included a hamburger. His last words reported by the Indiana Department of Correction were "Brian is going to read them"; however, it remained unclear when exactly he made the statement.
He was convicted in the rape and murder of 15-year-old Stacy Payne. Authorities said Ward attacked the girl with a knife and dumbbell in her family's home near Dale, about 30 miles (48 kilometres) east of Evansville.
The execution came amid questions and concerns about Indiana's handling of the powerful sedative pentobarbital.
Last year state officials ended a 15-year pause on executions, saying they'd been able to obtain drugs used in lethal injections that had been unavailable for years.
Among 27 states with death penalty laws, Indiana is one of two that bar media witnesses to executions. Ward's witness list included attorneys and spiritual advisers.
His case trailed through the courts for more than 20 years.
Ward was convicted of the crimes in 2002 and sentenced to death. But after the Indiana Supreme Court overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial, he pleaded guilty in 2007.
The victim's family members said they were ready for justice to be carried out, remembering Payne as an honour student and cheerleader with an influence beyond her short life.
