Indiana executes man for killing brother and 3 others for first time in 15 years
The state of Indiana has executed its first inmate in 15 years, with Joseph Edward Corcoran pronounced dead before sunrise Wednesday morning.
Corcoran, 49, was convicted in 1999 for the quadruple murder of his older brother, sister’s fiancé and two of their friends in 1997. He committed the murders with a semi-automatic rifle, and in the home where he lived with his older sister and brother in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Corcoran, who was 22 at the time, killed his brother, James Corcoran, 30, his sister’s fiancé, Robert Scott Turner, 32; and two of his friends, Timothy Bricker, 30, and Douglas Stilwell, 30.
Before Corcoran’s execution, his attorneys filed a request with the Indiana Supreme Court asking it to consider their client’s competency due to a 1999 diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. The court denied the attorneys’ request on Dec. 5.
Larry Komp, one of Corcoran’s attorneys, told USA Today before the execution, “If Corcoran had not been mentally ill, the crimes would never have happened.”
Corcoran died at 12:44 a.m. CST after being given a lethal dose of pentobarbital, a drug used separately to treat seizures and insomnia, according to the Indiana Department of Corrections.
Here are things to know about Corcoran’s execution
The execution began shortly after midnight CST, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Corcoran uttered his last words before taking his final breath.
“Not really. Let’s get this over with,” he said.
After the execution, Governor Eric Holcomb said, “Joseph Corcoran’s case has been reviewed repeatedly over the past 25 years – including 7 times by the Indiana Supreme Court and 3 times by the U.S. Supreme Court, the most recent of which was tonight. His conviction has never been overturned and he was executed as ordered by the court.”
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita also released a statement, saying Corcoran “finally paid his debt to society as his victims received justice.”
What crime was Joseph Corcoran convicted of?
On May 22, 1999, Corcoran was convicted of the murders of his brother Turner, Stilwell, and Bricker. On August 26, 1999, he was sentenced to death for the murders.
According to a 2013 court filing, on July 26, 1997, Corcoran was lying on his bedroom floor in his Fort Wayne, Indiana home, where he lived with James Corcoran and his older sister, Kelly Ernst, and he heard men’s voices coming from downstairs. The court document further states that he thought the men were allegedly talking about him.
An angry Corcoran grabbed a rifle, went downstairs and confronted the four men, shooting them at close range, according to the filing. The court document states that Stilwell tried to flee the house, but Corcoran found him and shot him in the head.
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