INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Supreme Court has denied a stay of execution for a Fort Wayne man convicted of killing his brother and three other people in 1997.
Thursday's ruling means that Joseph Corcoran still faces death by lethal injection on Dec. 18 after a jury found him guilty in 1999 of the shooting deaths of his brother James Corcoran; his sister’s fiance, Robert Scott Turner; and two of their friends, Timothy Bricker and Douglas Stillwell.
Since his conviction, Corcoran has filed numerous appeals, with his defense attorneys contending that he has been diagnosed with a "long-standing mental illness."
Federal and state courts have upheld the death sentence despite multiple efforts by Corcoran to get it overturned as he sat on death row. In September, the Indiana Supreme Court determined that there was not a stay of execution and that it needed to set a date for Corcoran's execution.
In June, the state filed a motion to establish an execution date for Corcoran, stating that it was not aware of any requests for pending stays related to Corcoran's death sentence.
Corcoran filed his response shortly after, arguing that the execution would violate his Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Consitution and was in violation of Article One, Section 16 of the Indiana Constitution due to his mental illness.
Corcoran will be the first person to be executed by the state since 2009 when Matthew Winkles was killed using lethal injection.
The delay in executions was caused by the state running out of pentobarbital, the drug that is often used by the State Department of Corrections during executions. Gov. Eric Holcomb announced in June that the state had acquired the drug and renewed the push for the state to continue carrying out executions alongside Attorney General Todd Rokita.
Indiana is one of 27 states where state-backed executions are still legal.