The state of Indiana does not allow the media to attend executions, as does Wyoming. The last two minutes of the execution were not seen and lawyers claim the man in question was mentally upset.
The state of Indiana carried out its first execution in 15 years on Wednesday, in a case that until last week was under ‘discussion’ in the courts.
According to a report by the Associated Press (AP), the case dates back to 1997, when Joseph Corcoran shot and killed four people: his brother, his brother-in-law and two other men. This was the 24th execution in the United States this year.
The resources to try to overturn the death penalty were exhausted in 2016, but, according to the news agency, last week the lawyers again claimed that at the time of the crime the man, who died at the age of 49, was mentally disturbed – something that they had already tried years before. Similar to what happened the first few times this was the argument used by the defense, this time it also had no effect – and the death penalty to which he was sentenced was actually carried out.
Joseph Corcoran fatally shot the four men, all in their 30s, because, according to the AP, he was under stress due to the wedding of his sister and brother-in-law (one of the victims), who were moving out of the city where they lived, Fort Wayne.
Only a few family members and a priest were able to attend the execution, which was scheduled to be carried out with the sedative pentobarbital – however, the statement in which the death was announced did not mention which sedative Corcoran had died under. The state of Indiana does not allow the media to attend executions, but Corcoran chose a reporter from the Indiana Capital Chronicle as one of his witnesses.
While incarcerated for the murders, Corcoran reportedly bragged about fatally shooting his parents in 1992 in Steuben County, northern Indiana. Despite being charged with their deaths, he was later acquitted.
The execution took eight minutes, but the last two were not possible to watch. Corcoran’s attorney explained that it is “impossible to say whether he suffered.” Note that the ‘discussion’ over the death penalty has caused some pharmaceutical companies to stop selling certain drugs used in executions. However, the sedative mentioned above is also used for the same purpose, although critics say it can cause intense pain.
The lawyers also noted that Corcoran’s case has been reviewed seven times over 25 years and the sentence has never been reversed. According to Corcoran’s wife, he was “very sick.”
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