Overview

• Roy Lee Ward was executed by lethal injection at the Indiana State Prison and pronounced dead at 12:33 a.m. CDT, according to the Department of Correction.
• State officials said pentobarbital was used in accordance with protocol, after court filings disclosed the drug was manufactured and documented chain‑of‑custody and temperature logs.
• Ward withdrew two remaining federal lawsuits last week under an agreement with the state, resolving disputes over drug sourcing and storage that had threatened to delay the date.
• Indiana’s parole board recommended denying clemency and Gov. Mike Braun rejected Ward’s bid, capping a decades‑long legal history that included a retrial, a guilty plea in 2007, and failed appeals.
• The execution was Indiana’s third since resuming capital punishment in 2024, a period marked by costly drug procurement and strict witness rules that bar media from observing.