Indiana plans to carry out its first execution since 2009 before dawn Wednesday, with much of the process hidden from the public.
Under state law, no media witnesses are allowed to attend the execution of Joseph Corcoran, 49, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection for the 1997 murders of his brother and three other men, one of whom was the fiancée of Corcoran’s sister.
The convicted man’s legal team continued Tuesday to petition federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, to halt the execution after a federal appeals court on Monday sided with a federal judge who ruled that he is competent to be executed.
“If the courts do not suspend the execution, we will ask the government to do so [Eric] Holcomb to grant clemency to Joe, a seriously mentally ill man,” Deputy Public Defender Joanna Green said in an email Tuesday.
The Indiana Department of Corrections said Tuesday night that Corcoran requested Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for his last meal. His execution could take place sometime between midnight and sunrise Wednesday, barring a last-minute postponement.
Corcoran’s lawyers claim he suffers from “severe and long-standing paranoid schizophrenia,” documented in self-published books from prison, in which he described being subjected to “ultrasonic monitoring.” His mental state, the attorneys added, prevented him from seeking appropriate help after his conviction.
Joseph Corcoran.
In a dissent for the appeals court, U.S. District Judge John Lee recognized that “given Corcoran’s long, undisputed history of serious mental illness and the pervasiveness of his ongoing delusions, as evidenced by his book and recent medical records, he is entitled to at least one court is assessing his competency to be executed.”
In recent days, anti-death penalty groups have demonstrated at the state Capitol and delivered letters to Holcomb’s office asking him to use his clemency powers.
“A week before we welcome the light of the Prince of Peace into the world,” said David Frank, chairman of the Indiana Abolition Coalition, in reference to Christmas, “the state is secretly, under the cover of darkness, planning to to take the life of Mr. Corcoran.”
Holcomb’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. In June, Holcomb announced that the state had purchased pentobarbital, a sedative used in lethal injections, after “years of effort.”
“Accordingly, I fulfill my duties as governor to follow the law and appropriately move forward in this case,” Holcomb said.
Some death penalty states have had trouble obtaining lethal injection drugs, leading to a moratorium on the practice. Yet this year, Utah executed its first inmate in 14 years and South Carolina its first in 13 years, while Idaho attempted to carry out its first execution in 12 years, but proceedings halted when prison staff were unable to locate a viable vein.
Of the 27 states that still allow the death penalty, only Indiana and Wyoming exclude media witnesses, according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.
A lack of media scrutiny and the confidentiality surrounding the practice of executions in Indiana are part of the reason why the original prosecutor in the Corcoran case, Robert Gevers, is speaking out against the death penalty.
Gevers, who served two terms as Allen County prosecutor and is now a defense attorney, said his views on the death penalty began to develop around 2011, more than a decade after Corcoran’s trial.
He said he would not seek a death sentence if he were involved in the case today, although he understands why some prosecutors believe it is important to give victims’ loved ones the opportunity to be punished in the pursuit of justice.
“I’ve seen it from both sides,” Gevers said, struggling morally with the issue. But “I came to see that sparing someone’s life is nothing more than just mercy and nothing less.”
Kelly Ernst, a sister of Corcoran whose fiancée was among the victims, told The Associated Press that she now believes the death penalty should be abolished and that the state’s decision to execute her brother a week before Christmas is disturbing.
“My sister and I have a birthday in December,” Ernst said. “I mean, it just feels like it’s going to ruin Christmas for the rest of our lives. That’s just how it feels.’
Corcoran was 22 in 1997 when he fatally shot his brother, James Corcoran, 30, in the home they shared in Fort Wayne. Also killed were Robert Scott Turner, 32, who was Ernst’s fiancée, and friends Douglas Stillwell and Timothy Bricker, both 30.
Five years earlier, Joseph Corcoran was acquitted of the murders of his parents, Jack and Kathryn Corcoran, after jurors did not find enough evidence to reach a conviction. According to prosecutors, Corcoran killed his brother and the other men while they were watching TV after he thought they were discussing his suspected involvement in his parents’ deaths.
Corcoran’s then seven-year-old niece was also home at the time of the shooting, but was unharmed.
His mental state had been discussed during his trial.
In a petition last week asking Holcomb to commute Corcoran’s death penalty to life without parole, his attorneys emphasized that he can be safely housed and that no incidents have been reported while he has been in prison since 2006.
“Although Joe is delusional, his delusions purely lead him to believe he is being tormented and publicly embarrassed,” they wrote. “They did not commit acts of violence against others during their incarceration.”
Seven other inmates remain on Indiana’s death row, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
A Republican state lawmaker introduced legislation this month that would repeal the death penalty, and Corcoran’s supporters hope Holcomb will at least grant a reprieve until the debate can be heard. Newly elected Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican like Holcomb, has said he supports legislative debate on the issue.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
