Faith leaders and others spoke on the steps of the Indiana statehouse urging clemency for Joseph Corcoran.
(George Hale / WTIU News)
Death penalty opponents are urging Gov. Eric Holcomb to cancel the planned execution of an Indiana state prisoner — the first in 15 years.
Faith leaders and others opposed to the death penalty spoke on the steps of the Indiana statehouse urging clemency for Joseph Corcoran, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection next month as punishment for four 1997 murders in Fort Wayne.
“In his case in particular, he is seriously mentally ill,” says David Frank, president of the Indiana Abolition Coalition, which organized the rally.
“The State has allowed this to proceed so far — it's been able to proceed this far — because Mr. Corcoran is suffering so severely from his mental illness that he's wishing to die. It’s cruel and barbaric to execute someone who's in that mental state,” Frank said.
In a court filing last week, Corcoran’s attorneys said he has suffered from psychosis his entire life and that executing him could violate the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
“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,” according to the filing. “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.”
Death penalty opponents are also concerned about Indiana’s planned use of an anti-seizure medication that’s been linked to botched executions.
In 2021, retired Unitarian Universalist minister Bill Breeden stood beside a federal prisoner, Corey Johnson, while he was executed using the same drug, pentobarbital. An autopsy conducted on the body showed signs of pulmonary edema, a condition in which liquid flows into a patient’s lungs before they die.
“I don't know how long it was. Every minute was an eternity,” Breeden told the crowd gathered outside the statehouse Sunday.
He then addressed Gov. Eric Holcomb: “If you intend on committing first-degree, premeditated, cold-blooded murder, have the courage to go watch it done. And call me when you come out. I'll be glad to sit with you and pray for forgiveness.”
Corcoran was sentenced to death in 1998 for the murders of his brother James Corcoran, his sister’s fiancé Robert Scott Turner, and two of their friends: Timothy Bricker and Douglas Stillwell.
Prosecutors offered Corcoran a guilty plea or a bench trial in exchange for a sentence of life in prison. Corcoran instead chose a trial in front of a jury. His attorneys say they intended to argue he was insane at the time of the murders.
Protesters at Sunday’s rally pointed to the proposed deal as evidence that even the State recognizes Corcoran isn’t a threat behind bars.
"The State offered this mentally ill person a plea agreement for life without parole, therefore acknowledging that death was not necessary in this case for ultimate justice,” protester Ashley Eve said in an interview.
“And yet, because this person was so mentally ill, he was unable to consider this plea. The State still went forward with the death penalty and is now seeking to execute this person when it's just simply not necessary.”
Corcoran’s execution is set for Dec. 18 at the Indiana State Prison.
Holcomb announced in the summer that Indiana obtained a supply of pentobarbital, allowing executions to resume after years of delay. The drug is used by other states and the federal government but hasn’t been used by Indiana before.
In June, Holcomb said he wasn’t concerned about state officials’ ability to conduct an execution using pentobarbital.
“We’ve tracked this particular drug and feel comfortable that not only it’s the right drug but also that the (execution) protocol is in place, and we're prepared to carry out our duties,” Holcomb said at the time.
