A quadruple murderer who has repeatedly asked to be killed will finally be executed after 25 years on death row.
Joseph Corcoran, 49, murdered his brother James and three other men in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in July 1997, and was sentenced to death after a trial in 1999.
The 22-year-old was living in a house with his brother, sister Kelly and her fiancé, Robert Turner, at the time of the murders.
He stated that he heard his brother, brother-in-law, Timothy Bricker and Doug Stillwell talking about him while he was upstairs.
Enraged, he armed himself with a Ruger Mini-14 assault rifle and ran down the stairs, opening fire on the unsuspecting group and killing them within six seconds.
Last month, the Indiana Supreme Court issued notice that he would be killed by lethal injection on December 18.
While his lawyers continue to fight on his behalf, arguing that he is too mentally ill to be executed, Corcoran has previously said he wants to die.
Joseph Corcoran, 49, killed his brother James and three other men in Fort Wayne in July 1997 and has been on death row since his 1999 trial.
Corcoran’s federal appeals ended in 2016. He is currently being held at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, as seen here.
In 2006 he wrote to a Fort Wayne newspaper and said: “I believe the death penalty is a just punishment for murder. I am guilty of murder and therefore I should be executed.
He continued: ‘Why sentence such a person to life in prison? If they kill someone, they have won the lottery; they get free room and board for the rest of their lives.
“Therefore, in my opinion the death penalty is a just punishment for murder.” he added.
Corcoran also sought to have his right to appeal the death penalty waived at the time of his conviction.
Addressing the court, he said: ‘Do I have the right to give up my appeal? I wish to waive my appeals.’
He was found to be suffering from paranoid schizophrenia after being jailed for the murders.
In a July court filing before the Indiana Supreme Court, it was revealed that Corcoran has daily delusions that prison guards are torturing him with an ultrasound machine.
He also said that he carries on conversations with people who are not there and that he suffers from an involuntary speech order.
He also believes that his thoughts are broadcast throughout the prison and that he says embarrassing things that cause people to act hostile towards him while he sleeps.
Citing the opinions of medical professionals, his lawyers have attempted to argue that his mental health problems are what led him to want to die.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Robert Kaplan previously testified at a post-conviction hearing that he was not competent to waive his appeals.
Kaplan noted that: “One of the reasons he wants to die is because he doesn’t want to continue suffering from this speech disorder that he doesn’t really have.”
‘Another reason why he wants to die is because he no longer wants to be a victim of the guards’ ultrasound machine. And that is a very strange belief.
In a July court filing before the Indiana Supreme Court, it was revealed that Corcoran has daily delusions that prison guards are torturing him with an ultrasound machine.
After the quadruple murders, he left his rifle and went to a neighbor’s house where he asked the police to be called.
In 1992 he was acquitted of murdering his parents that same year in their Steuben County home. Jack and Kathryn Corcoran had been killed by shotgun blasts.
At the time of the murders, Corcoran told his niece to stay in her room, loaded his assault rifle with 28 high-velocity bullets and went downstairs.
Within six seconds, he had shot his brother three times, Bricker twice, and fired four bullets at Turner.
All the men died instantly. Stillwell ran off the couch and into the kitchen, where Corcoran chased him, before shooting him four times.
Corcoran loaded his assault rifle with 28 high-velocity rounds and descended the stairs, opening fire on the group.
After the quadruple murder, he left his rifle and went to a neighbor’s house where he asked the police to be called.
A search of his bedroom and secure attic revealed more than 30 firearms, ammunition, explosives, military guerrilla tactics guides and a copy of The Turner Diaries.
The Turner Diaries is a famous book written by neo-Nazi William Luther Pierce about a race war within the United States.
The book has been described as the “bible of the racist right” by the FBI and has been the inspiration for attacks such as the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
Corcoran would later explain that he had been under stress due to his sister’s upcoming marriage, which meant he had to move house.
He told officers his true intention was to intimidate the group, saying, “It just didn’t happen that way.”
He asserted an insanity defense based on his self-diagnosis of having a paranoid or schizotypal personality disorder.
By court order, the psychiatrists who evaluated him later concluded that he was competent to stand trial.
In early 1992 he had been acquitted of murdering his parents in their Steuben County home. Jack and Kathryn Corcoran had been killed by shotgun blasts.
The Steuben County trial heard testimony that he was concerned about guns and murder, and allegedly offered people money to kill their parents.
Corcoran asserted an insanity defense based on his self-diagnosis of having paranoid or schizotypal personality disorder.
According to a local newspaper article of the time seen by WANEPolice believed he killed his parents with a 12-gauge gun and then got on the bus to go to school.
Prosecutors in the case argued that he killed his parents after they sold a car he thought was his, burned his music tapes and forced him to go to church.
The investigation into their deaths is still ongoing, but is at a standstill.
Officials with the Steuben County Sheriff’s Department told the outlet that the acquittal left the matter open, but that there were no active leads.
Following the death of her brother James, Corcoran’s sister Kelly told reporters, “I knew right then and there that I had killed my parents.”
She continued; ‘I have cried so many tears. I’m dry, everything is gone. It has ruined my life.
Even though their lawyers argue that by executing Corcoran the state would be violating its Eighth Amendment, they are moving forward.
The order stated: “Execution of the death sentence imposed upon Joseph E. Corcoran is ordered to take place before the hour of dawn on December 18, 2024.”
Corcoran’s federal appeals ended in 2016. He is currently being held at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.
His lead attorney, Larry Komp, told the Indiana Capital Chronicle that they would seek a last-minute plea with a request for clemency.
Corcoran’s execution will be the first in the state since 2009, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
The last death sentence carried out was that of Matthew Eric Wrinkles, murdered for the triple murder of his wife, his brother and his sister-in-law.
The more than decade-long hiatus has been attributed to the lack of availability of lethal injection medications.
Earlier this year, the Department of Corrections revealed that they had managed to acquire the sedative Pentobarbital after “years of effort.”
The drug has never been used before in Indiana, but Gov. Eric Holcomb, seen here, said he was “comfortable” with the option.
His execution will be the first in the state since 2009, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
The drug has never been used before in Indiana, but Gov. Eric Holcomb said he was “comfortable” with the option.
Since the State announced that they had managed to acquire the medication, despite the shortage, they have remained silent about how they obtained it.
The Department of Corrections has consistently denied requests for information.
Holcomb said: “We have done our due diligence, we have tracked down this particular medication and we feel confident that not only is it the correct medication, but also that the protocol is in place and we are prepared to carry out our duties.
“We’ve been working on this for seven years and I would say, through no fault of mine, that it’s been harder to do for a number of reasons.
‘When so much evil is manifested, I personally believe in this. I respect others who do not do it. The will of the people will be fulfilled and it is the law of our land.’
The state currently has eight people on death row, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Some states have been looking for new ways to execute inmates after drugs used in lethal injections became increasingly difficult to find. Alabama was the first state to use nitrogen gas in an execution earlier this year.
