Indiana Man to Be Executed: ‘It’s Going to Ruin Christmas’

What’s New

An Indiana man, found guilty of murdering his brother and three others in a 1997 rampage, is set to be executed by lethal injection early Wednesday despite mental health concerns. The execution will be Indiana’s first in 15 years.

One of Joseph Corcoran’s sisters, Kelly Ernst, who lost both her brother and fiancé in the 1997 shootings, voiced her opposition to the execution. “It just feels like it’s going to ruin Christmas for the rest of our lives,” she said.

Corcoran, 49, has been on Indiana’s death row since 1999 after being convicted of fatally shooting four people in the 1997 attack. Among the victims were his brother, 30-year-old James Corcoran; his sister’s fiance, 32-year-old Robert Scott Turner; and two other men, Timothy G. Bricker and Douglas A. Stillwell, both 30.

Why It Matters

The execution comes after Gov. Eric Holcomb announced last summer that Indiana would resume carrying out capital punishment, ending a yearslong pause caused by a nationwide shortage of lethal injection drugs.

The state has offered limited details about the execution process, including the exact time it will occur. Under Indiana law, no media witnesses will be allowed to attend.

What to Know

Barring any last-minute court rulings or intervention from Holcomb, Corcoran is scheduled to be executed just before sunrise Wednesday at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, state officials confirmed.

Ahead of the execution, prison officials released photos of the chamber, which resembles a sterile operating room. The space features a gurney under bright fluorescent lights, a floor drain, and interior windows providing a view from an adjacent room.

Corcoran’s attorneys have long contested his death sentence, arguing that he suffers from severe mental illness, which impairs his ability to comprehend and make decisions.

Corcoran exhausted his federal appeals in 2016. Earlier this month, his legal team petitioned the Indiana Supreme Court to halt the execution, but the request was denied, clearing the way for the state to proceed.

What People Are Saying

Defense attorney Larry Komp: “Given that it is a close case, it shouldn’t be rushed through,” he said. “He’s so extremely mentally ill. We think he’s irrational. We’ve never had a fair process.” Corcoran’s attorneys point to his mental illness as evident in a handwritten affidavit he submitted to the justices earlier this month.

Corcoran declared in the affidavit he was finished with challenging his case: “I am guilty of the crime I was convicted of, and accept the findings of all the appellate courts.”

Corcoran’s sister Kelly Ernst voiced her opposition to the death penalty: “I’m at a loss for words. I’m just really upset that they’re doing it close to Christmas,” she said. “My sister and I, our birthdays are in December. I mean, it just feels like it’s going to ruin Christmas for the rest of our lives. That’s just what it feels like.”

What Were The Circumstances of the Killings?

Court records reveal that in July 1997, Corcoran was under significant stress because his sister’s upcoming marriage would have forced him to move out of the Fort Wayne, Indiana, home he shared with his brother and sister.

Awakening to hear his brother and others discussing him downstairs, Corcoran loaded his rifle and fatally shot all four men, the records state.

What Happens Next

Last week, Corcoran’s attorneys petitioned the U.S. District Court for Northern Indiana to halt the execution, arguing it would be unconstitutional due to Corcoran’s “severe and longstanding paranoid schizophrenia.”

The court denied the request on Friday, leading Corcoran’s legal team to file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in a final effort to stop the execution.

If Corcoran is executed as scheduled early Wednesday, it will mark Indiana’s first state execution since 2009. Over the past 15 years, the state has not carried out any executions, though federal officials conducted 13 executions in 2020 and 2021 at the federal prison in Terre Haute.

Indiana’s last state execution occurred in 2009, when Matthew Wrinkles was put to death for the 1994 murders of his wife, her brother, and sister-in-law.

State officials have previously cited the unavailability of the drug combination used in lethal injections as the primary reason for the yearslong halt to executions.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press