A Indiana man convicted of the 1997 murders of four people, including his brother and his sister’s fiancée, was put to death Wednesday in the state’s first execution in 15 years.
Joseph Corcoran, 49, was pronounced dead at Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, Indiana at 12:44 a.m. CST, according to the Indiana Department of Correction, making it the 24th execution in the U.S. this year. He was to be executed with the powerful sedative pentobarbital, although officials did not mention that drug in their statement.
Prison officials said his last meal was Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
Corcoran was convicted of the July 1997 shooting of his brother, 30-year-old James Corcoran; his sister’s fiancée, 32-year-old Robert Scott Turner, and two other men, 30-year-old Timothy G. Bricker and 30-year-old Douglas A. Stillwell.
INDIANA WILL CARRY OUT FIRST STATE 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 via AP)
Before the shooting, Corcoran was under pressure because his sister’s upcoming wedding would require a move from the Fort Wayne, Indiana, home he shared with his brother and sister, according to court records.
During his time in prison for these murders, Corcoran reportedly bragged about shooting and killing his parents in 1992 in Steuben County, northern Indiana, for which he was convicted. charged, but later acquitted.
Wednesday’s execution comes after Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, announced plans in June to resume state executions after a 15-year hiatus caused by difficulties in obtaining lethal injection drugs.
The state provided limited details about the execution process and members of the press were not allowed to serve as witnesses under state law. But 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 two states in the country where members of the media cannot witness state executions.
Corcoran’s lawyers had challenged his death penalty for years, claiming he was seriously mentally ill, which affected his ability to understand and make decisions. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court rejected a request from his lawyers to halt his execution.
He exhausted his federal appeals in 2016, but his lawyers last week asked the U.S. District Court of Northern Indiana to halt his execution and hold a hearing to decide whether it would be unconstitutional because Corcoran has a serious mental illness. The court declined to intervene Friday, followed Tuesday by another denied request from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.
Corcoran’s lawyers then made a final plea, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to issue an emergency injunction to block his execution, but it also denied their request for a stay late Tuesday.
Attorney Larry Komp said he was disappointed with the Supreme Court’s ruling. mental health was not properly investigated.
INDIANA WANTS TO CARRY OUT FIRST EXECUTION IN 15 YEARS AFTER OBTAINING DEADLY INJECTION DRUGS
Joseph Corcoran is led to the City-County Lockup in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on August 26, 1999, after being sentenced to death in the July 1997 murders of four people. (Matt Sullivan/The Journal-Gazette via AP)
“There has never been a hearing to determine whether he is fit to be executed,” Komp said in a statement to the Associated Press. “It is an absolute failure for the rule of law to allow an execution to take place if the law and proper processes are not followed.”
Corcoran’s only remaining option to extend his life after the legal challenges became Holcomb, who could have commuted Corcoran’s death sentence but chose not to.
Holcomb’s office released a statement Wednesday after Corcoran was put to death.
“The case of Joseph Corcoran has been reviewed repeatedly over the past 25 years – including seven times by the Indiana Supreme Court and three times by the U.S. Supreme Court, the most recent of which was tonight,” Holcomb said. “His sentence was never overturned and was carried out as ordered by the court.”
The last state execution in Indiana took place in 2009, when Matthew Wrinkles was put to death for killing his wife, her brother and sister-in-law in 1994. Since then, 13 executions have been carried out in the state, but these have been initiated. and executed by federal officials in 2020 and 2021 in a federal prison.
State officials have said they could not resume executions because the combination of drugs used in lethal injections was not available.
There has been a nationwide shortage of these drugs for years because drug companies have refused to sell them for executions, forcing states including Indiana to use compounding pharmacies, which make drugs specifically for customers. Some of these pharmacies use more accessible medications such as the sedatives pentobarbital or midazolam, which critics say can cause intense pain.
At midnight, a group of anti-death penalty activists began singing “Amazing Grace.”
Religious groups, disability rights advocates and others have opposed Corcoran’s execution. About a dozen people, including some holding candles, held a vigil late Tuesday to pray outside the prison.
The sun sets behind the Indiana State Prison on Tuesday, December 17, 2024 in Michigan City, Indiana. (AP)
“We can build a society without giving government authorities the right to execute their own citizens,” said Bishop Robert McClory of the Diocese of Gary, who led the prayers.
Other opponents of the death penalty also held protests outside the prison on Tuesday evening, with some holding signs reading “Execution is not the solution” and “Remember the victims, but not with more killings.”
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“There is no need and no benefit to this execution. It’s all a show,” said Abraham Borowitz, director of Death Penalty Action, whose organization protests every execution in the US.
Corcoran’s wife, Tahina Corcoran, told reporters outside the prison that her husband was “very mentally ill” and that she didn’t think he fully understood what was happening to him.
“He’s in shock. He doesn’t understand,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
