Indiana executes man convicted of 2001 rape and murder of teen
Indiana execution revives fraught national debate over capital punishment
On a quiet Tuesday night in Indiana, the state carried out the lethal injection of Roy Lee Ward, a 53‑year‑old convicted in the 2001 rape and murder of 15‑year‑old Stacy Payne. Ward, who was arrested at the scene holding a knife, had been sentenced to death in 2002. His final hours — which included a last meal of a hamburger, a steak melt, chips, shrimp and breadsticks — closed a chapter that has become, for many Americans, part tragedy and part…