(12-18-24) Convicted murderer Joseph Corcoran (49) of Ft. Wayne was pronounced dead by lethal injection at 12:44 a.m. Wednesday morning at the Indiana State Prison, marking the first Indiana execution since 2009.
Corcoran was one of the four inmates on death row who had exhausted all avenues of appeal, with the death row population still remaining at eight in total.
Corcoran, who had been on death row since 1999, was 22 when he 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 in Ft. Wayne he shared with his brother and a sister.
The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed Corcoran’s final appeal on December 17, 2024.
- This story from a media member who was a witness to execution—Death row inmate Joseph Corcoran executed for quadruple murder
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb early Wednesday morning issued this statement-
“Joseph Corcoran’s case has been reviewed repeatedly over the last 25 years – including 7 times by the Indiana Supreme Court and 3 times by the U.S. Supreme Court, the most recent of which was tonight. His sentence has never been overturned and was carried out as ordered by the court.”
In 1992, Jack and Kathryn Corcoran were found shot to death in their Ball Lake home in Steuben County. Joseph, their son, who was 16 at that time, was charged for their deaths. He was charged in their killings but wasacquitted.
Mercer County Outlook 