The Indiana Parole Board had cited the "brutal nature" of Ward's crimes against 15-year-old Stacy Payne.

Ward's attorney, Indiana Deputy Public Defender Joanna Green, said she's "very disppointed" in Braun's decision, saying Ward had been mischaracterized as a psychopath.

Gov. Mike Braun followed the recommendation of the Indiana Parole Board , allowing the execution of death row inmate Roy Lee Ward to move forward, according to a short announcement Sept. 29.

Ward, whose execution date is on Oct. 10, was sentenced to death for the 2001 rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl from Southern Indiana. Ward will be the third inmate to be executed by the state of Indiana since it resumed executions last year after a 15-year pause.

The decision came just a few days after the five-member boar

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