Indiana’s governor and attorney general have asked to set an execution date for Fort Wayne’s Joseph Corcoran, who was convicted in a 1997 quadruple homicide.
(Courthouse photo from Allen County and mugshot from public record. Photo illustration by Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Attorneys for convicted murderer Joseph Corcoran on Friday filed for a stay of execution, arguing it’s cruel and unusual punishment to execute someone who is seriously mentally ill.
“Mr. Corcoran’s paranoid schizophrenia completely removes him from reality. He cannot distinguish between reality and his delusions and hallucinations — his delusions are his reality,” the filing said.
“The evolving standards of decency prohibit Mr. Corcoran’s execution and require reversal of his death sentence.”
Corcoran was convicted of murdering four people in Fort Wayne in 1997 and was sentenced to death in 1999.
It wasn’t until earlier this summer, in June, that Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita filedto schedule an execution date. That was after the stateobtained pentobarbital, a lethal drug increasingly being used around the country to carry out death warrants. Corcoran’s execution — scheduled for Dec. 18 — would be the first in Indiana since 2009.
“For virtually his entire life, Mr. Corcoran has been plagued by symptoms of psychosis and cognitive dysfunction. These symptoms continue to this day, and numerous mental health experts have diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia or precursors to the schizophrenic diagnosis,” the filing said. “There is colorable evidence that Mr. Corcoran’s death sentence and execution violate the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article One, Section 16 to the Indiana Constitution because he is seriously mentally ill.
“It is unchallengeable and law of this case as to the extent of the seriousness of the mental illness – paranoid schizophrenia.”
The filing said a growing number of states prohibit the execution of seriously mentally ill individuals. It specifically notes that Ohio and Kentucky, the only two states contiguous to Indiana with the death penalty, have banned the death penalty for individuals with serious mental illness.
His legal team sought the stay of execution so they can pursue a successive post-conviction petition on the basis that executing the seriously mentally ill is unconstitutional.
The new court records say the Indiana Department of Correction has attempted to medicate Corcoran, but nothing has cured him of his paranoid schizophrenia. As recently as March 1, 2024, treating correctional personnel noted this:
“Patient then began sharing information about what he believes to be an ultrasonic machine here at (Indiana State Prison) that can control his and others thoughts, sleep, voice, etc. Patient reports it is ‘top secret’ but it bothers him ‘endlessly all day.’ Patient reports the machine does put him to sleep at night. Patient stated ‘others think I’m delusional but I know its here.’ Writer inquired if patient ever recognizes his own thoughts as delusional, patient avoided the question. … Patient denies (mental health) symptoms and the expressed delusions are the only observable concern.”
The request for stay said, “Throughout his legal proceedings, he has been unable to assist counsel with his defense and has been unable to make rational decisions about his case. Indeed, currently, Mr. Corcoran wants to be executed, and is in fact eager for his execution, because he believes execution will relieve him from the pain of the ultrasound machine and sleep disorder.”
In September, Corcoran published a short book called “A Whistle-blower report: Electronic Harassment” under the pseudonym of J.C. Chase. Here are a few snippets:
“So, in essence, a small percentage of people are susceptible to ultrasound surveillance; someone with one of those devices can pretty much listen to them think;”
“The same ultrasonic signal that captures audible sounds by modulation can be used tosendaudible sound. Furthermore, the modulating signal can also send an electronic charge;”
“[I]t is apparent to me that correctional staff and other individuals and/or agencies use ultrasonic surveillance devices on susceptible people for sport. However, the fact that institutions keep their possession of such equipment confidential would make it extremely difficult for those abused to expose the abuse.”
Corcoran – then 22 — killed his brother, James Corcoran, 30; Robert Scott Turner, 32; Douglas A. Stillwell, 30; and Timothy G. Bricker, 30, on July 26, 1997. He committed the murders at the home he shared with his brother and a sister.
Joseph Corcoran told police at the time that the four men had been talking about him. He first placed his 7-year-old niece in an upstairs bedroom to protect her from the gunfire before killing the four men.
He then laid down the rifle, went to a neighbor’s house, and asked them to call the police. A search of his room and attic, to which only he had access, uncovered over 30 firearms, several munitions, explosives, guerrilla tactic military issue books, and a copy of “The Turner Diaries.”
Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull presided over the case. She is special judge in the Delphi case involving the deaths of two young girls.
