Indiana Man Joseph Corcoran Set for First Execution in 15 Years

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Written By Blue & Gold NLR Team

 

 

An Indiana man, Joseph Corcoran, who was convicted of killing his brother and three others in 1997, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday. This will be Indiana’s first execution in 15 years. Corcoran, 49, has been on death row since 1999 for the shooting deaths of his brother, James Corcoran, his sister’s fiancé, Robert Turner, and two other men, Timothy Bricker and Douglas Stillwell.

Unless there is last-minute intervention from the courts or the governor, Corcoran will be executed at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. The execution process has been kept secret, but no media witnesses will be allowed, as required by state law.

Corcoran’s lawyers have argued for years that he is severely mentally ill and cannot fully understand his situation. He exhausted his federal appeals in 2016. Recently, his attorneys asked the Indiana Supreme Court to stop the execution, but the court refused. They claim Corcoran’s mental illness affects his ability to make decisions, pointing to a letter he wrote saying he was done fighting his case.

In 1997, Corcoran shot the four victims after he was stressed about his sister’s upcoming marriage and the need to move out of his shared home. He was also jailed for bragging about the 1992 deaths of his parents, though he was acquitted of those killings.

If executed, Corcoran’s death would be Indiana’s first since 2009. The state stopped carrying out executions due to a shortage of lethal injection drugs, but the process was resumed after pharmaceutical companies stopped supplying drugs for executions. Critics say the drugs used in lethal injections can cause severe pain.

Corcoran’s attorneys filed a petition in federal court, arguing the execution would be unconstitutional due to his mental illness. The court rejected this request, and the case was appealed to a higher court. Many groups, including religious and disability rights organizations, have opposed the execution, and some activists plan a vigil outside the prison.

One of Corcoran’s sisters, Kelly Ernst, who lost both a brother and her fiancé in the shootings, believes the death penalty should be abolished. She said the execution will bring no closure and will forever change Christmas for her family. She is not planning to attend the execution.

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