Man found guilty of rape, murder

ROCKPORT, Ind. -- A jury decided Wednesday that a southern Indiana man should be put to death for raping and fatally stabbing a 15-year-old girl in her home.\nAfter hearing two days of testimony in the trial's sentencing phase, the jury deliberated less than two hours before reaching its sentence against Roy Lee Ward.\nWard, 30, of Leopold was found guilty Saturday on charges of murder, rape and criminal deviant conduct in the July 2001 death of Stacy Payne, a cheerleader and honor student.\nProsecutors said Ward entered Payne's home near Dale, about 30 miles east of Evansville, and raped and stabbed her.\nWard's defense attorney, Scott Blazey, said early in the trial that Ward was responsible for Payne's death, but was innocent of the rape and criminal deviant conduct charges.\nThe jury also could have sentenced Ward to life in prison without the possibility of parole.\nSpencer Circuit Court Judge Wayne Roell is scheduled to sentence Ward on Dec. 18.\nWard has a history of burglary and indecent exposure charges and spent time in a Missouri prison on a robbery conviction. He also has had stays in Madison State Hospital and Central State Hospital in Kentucky.