Senate Bill 11, introduced by Republican Sen. Michael Young, would allow Indiana death row inmates to request execution by firing squad if lethal injection is unavailable, taking effect in 2026.
Indiana officials have executed a man convicted in the 2001 rape and murder of a teenage girl. Roy Lee Ward was put to death early Friday by injection at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. The 53-year-old was convicted in the rape and murder of 15-year-old Stacy Payne and sentenced to death. She was killed in the family’s home in the small southern Indiana community of Dale. Attorneys said Ward had exhausted his legal options after more than two decades of court battles.
Roy Lee Ward, 53, was scheduled to be put to death before sunrise at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.
Authorities in Scottsburg are questioning why it took several days to alert the public after a 72-year-old convicted murderer went missing.
Indiana has carried out its first execution in 15 years by putting to death a man convicted of killing four people decades ago, including his brother and his sister’s fiancé.
The new prison due to be completed in early 2027 will include a 240-bed mental health unit.
The fire occurred just before 11 a.m. Saturday, according to a department spokesperson.
The Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled against an inmate who sued after money was withdrawn from his prison account to pay for the medical bills of a correctional officer he injured 30 years ago.
The three-month-old boy had a toxic level of meth in his body, when he died.
A 2-2 split among Indiana Supreme Court justices leaves in place a lower court ruling that ordered the prison agency to release the information.