An Indiana man convicted of murdering four people in 1997, including his brother and sister's fiance, was executed Wednesday in the state's first execution in 15 years.
Joseph Corcoran, 49, was pronounced dead at the Indiana State Penitentiary in Michigan City, Indiana, at 12:44 a.m. CST, making him the 24th person to be executed in the United States this year, according to the Indiana Department of Corrections. Ta. He was scheduled to be executed using the powerful sedative pentobarbital, but officials did not mention the drug in their statement.
Prison officials said his last meal was Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
Corcoran was convicted in the July 1997 shooting death of his brother, James Corcoran, 30. Robert Scott Turner, 32, his sister's fiancé, and two other men, Timothy G. Bricker, 30, and Douglas A. Stilwell, 30.
Indiana to carry out first national execution in 15 years
Joseph Corcoran, 49, was pronounced dead at 12:44 a.m. CST at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, Indiana. (Indiana Department of Corrections, Associated Press)
Court records say Corcoran was stressed before the shooting because he had to move out of the Fort Wayne, Ind., home he shared with his brother and sister after his sister got married.
While serving time for these murders, Corcoran reportedly bragged about shooting his parents to death in Steuben County in northern Indiana in 1992, a crime for which he was later acquitted. .
Wednesday's executions came after Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb announced plans in June to resume executions in the state after a 15-year hiatus due to lack of access to lethal injection drugs.
The state provided limited details about the execution process, and media members were not allowed as witnesses under state law. However, Corcoran chose a reporter from the Indiana Capital Chronicle as one of his witnesses.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Indiana and Wyoming are the only states in the country that do not allow members of the media to witness state executions.
Corcoran's lawyers have long challenged the death sentence, arguing that he suffers from severe mental illness that affects his ability to understand and make decisions. Earlier this month, the state Supreme Court rejected a request from lawyers to halt the execution.
He filed a federal appeal in 2016, but Corcoran's lawyers last week asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern Indiana to halt the execution due to Corcoran's severe mental illness, calling it unconstitutional. He requested that a public hearing be held to determine whether The court declined to intervene on Friday, followed by another request from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday.
Corcoran's lawyers then made closing arguments asking the U.S. Supreme Court to issue an emergency order blocking his execution, but the court also rejected the court's request for a stay late Tuesday.
Defense lawyer Larry Komp said he was disappointed with the High Court's decision, saying issues surrounding Corcoran's mental health had not been properly considered.
Indiana aims to carry out first execution in 15 years after obtaining lethal injection drug
Joseph Corcoran was taken to a city-county lock-up facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana on August 26, 1999 after being sentenced to death for the murders of four people in July 1997. (Matt Sullivan/Journal Gazette, via AP)
“There has never been a hearing to determine whether he is eligible to be executed,” Comp said in a statement to The Associated Press. “It is a complete failure of the rule of law that the death penalty is carried out when the law and due process are not followed.”
After a legal challenge, Mr. Holcomb had the only option to extend Mr. Corcoran's life, and although Mr. Holcomb could have commuted Mr. Corcoran's death sentence, he chose not to.
Holcomb's office issued a statement Wednesday following Corcoran's death.
“Joseph Corcoran's case has been heard repeatedly over the past 25 years, including seven times by the Indiana Supreme Court and three times by the United States Supreme Court, the most recent of which will be heard tonight. ,” Holcomb said. “His sentence has never been overturned and was carried out in accordance with the court's orders.”
The last state execution in Indiana occurred in 2009, when Matthew Wrinkles was put to death for the 1994 murders of his wife, his brother, and his sister-in-law. Since then, there have been 13 executions in the state, but they are only just getting started. and carried out by federal agents in federal prisons in 2020 and 2021.
State officials said they could not resume executions because the drug combination used in lethal injections was not available.
There have been drug shortages across the country for years because pharmaceutical companies have refused to sell execution drugs, forcing states including Indiana to use compounding pharmacies that make the drugs specifically for customers. Some of these pharmacies use more readily available drugs, such as the sedatives pentobarbital and midazolam, both of which critics argue can cause severe pain. .
At midnight, a group of anti-death penalty activists began singing “Amazing Grace.”
Religious groups and disability rights groups have opposed Corcoran's execution. About a dozen people, some holding candles, held a prayer vigil outside the prison late Tuesday.
The sun sets behind the Indiana State Penitentiary on Tuesday, December 17, 2024 in Michigan City, Indiana. (AP)
“You can build a society without giving government authorities the right to execute your own people,” said Bishop Robert McCrory of the Gary Diocese, who led the prayer.
Other opponents of the death penalty also protested outside the prison Tuesday night, some with placards reading “The death penalty is not the answer” and “We will not forget the victims, but we will not allow more killings.” Some people held up.
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“There is no need or benefit to this execution. This is all a sham,” said Abraham Borowitz, director of Death Penalty Activities, which protests all executions in the United States.
Corcoran's wife, Tahina Corcoran, told reporters outside the prison that her husband was “severely mentally ill” and that she didn't think he fully understood what was happening to him. spoke.
“He's in shock. He doesn't understand,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
