Indiana sets execution date for Fort Wayne man who killed 4 people in 1997

INDIANAPOLIS — In mid-December, the state of Indiana is expected to conduct its first execution since 2009.

According to an order from the Indiana Supreme Court issued on Wednesday, Joseph Corcoran, a Fort Wayne man who killed four people in 1997, will be executed by the state before the hour of sunrise on Dec. 18.

The last state execution occurred in 2009 when Matthew Eric Winkles was killed by lethal injection. Multiple individuals have been federally executed in Terre Haute, including Daniel Lewis Lee in July 2020.

According to previous reports , Corcoran was found guilty of shooting four people, including his brother, his sister’s fiancé and two of their friends, in 1999. Corcoran has gone through multiple appeals as well as multiple sentencing hearings that resulted in the death sentence.

In June, the state filed its motion to set an execution date, telling the court that the state and federal review for Corcoran’s convictions had ended and that they were unaware of any pending requests that had been filed to review the convictions/sentences. The state also told the court that there were no stays pending on Corcoran’s death sentence.

In response, Corcoran argued that conducting the execution would violate the eighth amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well as a portion of the Indiana Constitution because of “his long-standing mental illness” as well as “the State’s failure to disclose information about its current execution protocol.”

According to previous reports, officials said that the state previously had trouble obtaining drugs for executions. But, in June, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said that the Indiana Department of Correction had acquired pentobarbital, a drug that can be used in an execution.

“Being duly advised, the court finds there is no stay of execution now in effect and the only issue properly before us is our administrative task to set an execution date…,” the order reads. “It is ordered that execution of the death sentence imposed on Joseph E. Corcoran be carried out on Dec. 18, 2024 before the hour of sunrise… The superintendent of the Indiana State Prison is directed to carry out the execution in accordance with law.”

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