Indiana is gearing up for its first state-led execution in 15 years. Joseph Corcoran, 49, has been on Indiana’s death row since 1999, convicted of killing his brother and three other men back in 1997. If carried out as scheduled, this will be Indiana’s first execution since 2009.
What Happened in 1997?
Joseph Corcoran was just 22 when tragedy struck. On July 26, 1997, he fatally shot his brother James Corcoran, 30, along with three other men: Douglas A. Stillwell, Timothy G. Bricker, and Robert Scott Turner. Court records reveal Corcoran was deeply stressed because his sister’s upcoming marriage to Turner meant he’d have to move out of the home he shared with his brother and sister. Believing they were talking about him, he grabbed a rifle and opened fire.
Corcoran’s history with violence runs even deeper. While in jail, he reportedly bragged about killing his parents in 1992. Though charged, he was acquitted in that case.
A Family Torn Apart
Corcoran’s sister, Kelly Ernst, lost both her brother and fiancé in the 1997 shootings. Despite the unimaginable pain, she opposes the death penalty, believing it won’t change anything. “I kind of just feel that there’s no such thing as closure,” she shared. Ernst, now 56, has recently reconnected with her brother after a decade of no contact and believes he suffers from serious mental illness.
Why Did Indiana Stop Executions?
The last execution in Indiana happened in 2009 when Matthew Wrinkles was put to death for a triple murder in 1994. Since then, lethal injection drugs became hard to obtain as pharmaceutical companies stopped selling them for executions, particularly due to European opposition to capital punishment.
To overcome this, Indiana secured pentobarbital, a sedative often used in executions. But how they obtained it remains a mystery, as state law keeps the source confidential.
A Secretive Process
Indiana law tightly controls executions. Only select prison officials, spiritual advisors, and a few relatives of both the condemned and victims can be present. Surprisingly, media representatives are banned from witnessing executions in Indiana, making it one of only two states with such restrictions.
Last-Minute Legal Battle
Despite exhausting his appeals in 2016, Corcoran’s lawyers are still fighting. They argue that he suffers from severe paranoid schizophrenia, experiencing hallucinations and delusions, believing prison guards are torturing him with an ultrasound machine. They say he’s eager to be executed, thinking it will free him from this perceived suffering.
Although the Indiana Supreme Court denied previous petitions, Corcoran’s lawyers filed a new petition just days before the scheduled execution, asking for a hearing to determine his mental competency.
In a handwritten statement, Corcoran himself said he’s ready to face the consequences: “I am guilty of the crime I was convicted of and accept the findings of all the appellate courts.”
This unfolding story raises questions about mental health, justice, and the complexities of capital punishment in modern America.
