Joseph Corcoran: Indiana Executes Its First Death Row Inmate in 15 Years | US News

A death row inmate’s final statement was “let’s get this over with” as he became the first person executed in Indiana in 15 years.

Joseph Corcoran, aged 49, was put to death by lethal injection on Wednesday for the murders of his brother, his sister’s fiancé, and two other men in 1997.

Having spent time on death row since 1999, he was executed despite appeals from his legal representatives and activists to Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb to exercise his clemency powers.

In a plea to federal courts, including the US Supreme Court, Corcoran’s lawyers argued that he struggled with “severe and longstanding paranoid schizophrenia”.

They pointed out that this condition was documented in self-published writings from prison where he claimed he was subjected to “ultrasonic surveillance”.

Deputy public defender Joanna Green stated on Tuesday: “If the courts do not halt the execution, we implore Gov. Holcomb to grant clemency to Joe, a seriously mentally ill individual.”

This came a day after a federal appeals court deemed Corcoran mentally competent for execution.

Groups opposing the death penalty had protested outside Indiana’s state capitol in recent days, where the offices of Mr. Holcomb, the Indiana General Assembly, and the Indiana Supreme Court are located.

They also submitted letters to Mr. Holcomb’s office, urging him to provide clemency.

Holcomb’s office did not respond immediately to a request from Sky News’ US affiliate NBC News on Tuesday.

In June, the governor announced that the state had acquired pentobarbital, a sedative utilized in lethal injections, after “years of effort”.

At that time, he remarked: “Therefore, I am fulfilling my responsibilities as governor to uphold the law and proceed appropriately in this case.”

Corcoran’s last meal

The Indiana Department of Correction initiated the execution process shortly after midnight local time on Wednesday, with Corcoran being pronounced dead approximately 44 minutes later.

The department reported that his last words were: “Not really. Let’s get this over with.”

Corcoran’s final meal request included Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, the department stated.

Prior to the execution, anti-death penalty activists criticized the Indiana Department of Correction for carrying out the process without media witnesses.

Among the 27 states that still permit capital punishment, only Indiana and Wyoming do not allow media witnesses, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre.

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‘It’s going to ruin Christmas’

Before the execution, David Frank, president of the Indiana Abolition Coalition, referenced Christmas when he remarked: “One week before we embrace the light of the Prince of Peace into the world… the state, in secret, under the cover of darkness, plans to take Mr. Corcoran’s life.”

Meanwhile, Corcoran’s sister Kelly Ernst, whose fiancé Robert Scott Turner was one of his victims, expressed her belief that the death penalty should be abolished and condemned the timing of the execution just before Christmas.

Ms. Ernst stated: “My sister and I, our birthdays are in December… It feels as though Christmas will be ruined for the rest of our lives. That’s just how it feels.”

What was Corcoran convicted of?

At 22, Corcoran shot and killed his brother James, 30, at their home in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

He also murdered Turner, 32, along with friends Douglas Stillwell and Timothy Bricker, both aged 30.

Five years prior, Corcoran had been acquitted of the murders of his parents, Jack and Kathryn Corcoran, due to insufficient evidence for a conviction.