The prosecutor who sought the death penalty against Joseph Corcoran for gunning down four men in 1997 probably wouldnappt do it again, he said days before Wednesdayapps scheduled execution.
appTimes have changed, my own thinking has changed,app Robert Gevers told the Indiana Capital Chronicle. appThe death penalty is retribution. Thatapps all it is. Saving someoneapps life is grace. So, are we a society about retribution or grace?app
Corcoranapps sister, Kelly Ernst, has a unique perspective app sheapps his family, but also a victim. Corcoran killed her brother and fiancé.
appI donappt think his execution is going to help anything,app she told the Capital Chronicle. appItapps not going to provide closure for anyone involved.app
The impending execution is set for appbefore sunriseapp Wednesday and will be the first for the state of Indiana since 2009.
Gevers was the elected Allen County prosecutor for the 1999 case and handled the case personally. Since then, he has defended a death penalty case, coming to an agreement for that man to serve 300 years in prison instead.
Asked if he is comfortable with the state executing Corcoran, Gevers said thatapps not the right word.
appThat was the decision back then. That was the job we did, and we chose it,app he said. appAnd then, ultimately, that goes to the jury and judge, and they have the final say. app If it were on my plate today, I would probably act differently.app
Gevers mentioned that the sentence of life in prison without parole was new back then app but was likely a better option.
Corcoranapps mental health app not his guilt app has been at the heart of the case since the start. Gevers said he remembers psychologists testifying about mental health issues, but it didnappt rise to an excuse for his behavior.
appAt that time, he was a pretty smart young man who was not using mental health to deflect or excuse or even explain. He wasnappt so mentally ill that it made me think, appAre we really doing the right thing?app He was antisocial,app Gevers said.
He has had no interaction with Corcoran or his case in the last 20 years but has been reading articles and court briefs about Corcoranapps current mental state.
appBoy, Iappm glad Iappm not sitting on the bench,app Gevers said.
A long history
Corcoran app then 22 app 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 he shared with his brother and a sister.
Joseph Corcoran told police at the time that the four men had been talking about him. He first placed his 7-year-old niece in an upstairs bedroom to protect her from the gunfire before killing the four men.
He then laid down the rifle, went to a neighborapps house, and asked them to call the police. A search of his room and attic, to which only he had access, uncovered more than 30 firearms, several munitions, explosives, guerrilla tactic military issue books and a copy of appThe Turner Diaries.app
Five years earlier, in 1992, Jack and Kathryn Corcoran were found shot to death in their Ball Lake home. Joseph, their son, who was 16 at that time, was charged for their deaths. A jury acquitted him of the murders.
Corcoranapps defense lawyers maintain that appsevere mental illnessapp has caused their client to make decisions that arenappt in his best interest and have instead ensured his spot on death row.
Corcoranapps mental illness was documented in court filings as early as age 17, when he underwent a psychological evaluation after the deaths of his parents. Doctors who evaluated Corcoran over the last three decades have reached multiple diagnoses, including depression, paranoid schizophrenia and schizoid personality disorder.
State attorneys originally offered Corcoran a life sentence if he would accept a plea or waive a jury trial. He refused, however, saying he would agree to the terms only if the state appwould sever his vocal cords first because his involuntary speech allowed others to know his innermost thoughts,app according to court documents.
Later, at his sentencing, Corcoran stated that he wanted to waive all his appeals. And in the early 2000s, when the time was still ripe for Corcoran to initiate post-conviction review, he refused to sign the post-conviction petition.
So far, Corcoran has the necessary paperwork to initiate a clemency review or other avenues that could result in his removal from death row.
The inmateapps attorneys point to delusions that he has about ultrasound machines controlling him and his thoughts. But attorneys for the state say he is .
They assert that Corcoran wants to be executed and has appa rational understanding of the reason for his execution.app The attorney general has additionally pointed to a 2006 letter and statements in years past in which Corcoran appadmitted he fabricated this delusion.app
Last week, the Indiana Supreme Court , denying requests by Corcoranapps lawyers to delay his impending execution date and allow for his case to be reviewed or his sentence overturned. A different order issued by the court on Thursday again denied a stay.
Corcoranapps legal team is asking a federal judge to step in and pause the execution to allow for a hearing and review of their claims that putting the inmate to death is unconstitutional.
They argued that Corcoranapps mental illness has long distorted his reality and made him unable to understand the severity of his punishment. Larry Komp, Corcoranapps federal attorney, said his client applacks any rational understanding of his impending execution app he simply wants to expedite the ending of the torture that is not real.app
Thatapps despite , in which he said he has appno desire nor wish to engage in further appeals or litigation whatsoever.app With his appown free willapp and appwithout coercion or promise of anything,app he asked the justices to withdraw his counselapps motions.
Ernst said sheapps only resumed contact with her brother in recent months. Correspondence between the two was brief, at best, in the 25 years prior.
She was Corcoranapps legal guardian when the quadruple murder took place. She said it wasnappt until 10 years ago that she forgave Corcoran for the crime.
appI never expected what happened to happen in a million years,app Ernst said in a Thursday interview. appBut what did happen pretty much changed my whole life. It was horrible. It sent me into a downward spiral. I was pretty self-destructive for a very long time. I had no contact with him after app just what I saw on the news.app
But execution, she said, appis not what I want to see.app
appAnd itapps bull to make it so close to Christmas,app Ernst said.
appHeapps mentally ill,app she continued. appHeapps been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and when I was younger, I didnappt know what that was. I had no idea what mental illness was. But looking back, there were a few signs that I missed.app
Attempts to reach family members of other victims was unsuccessful.
Mark Thoma was one of Corcoranapps attorneys at his 1999 trial and he, too, is appappalledapp that the state is going to put him to death when he appclearlyapp canappt make rational decisions.
appThatapps just dandy. So, weappre going to let incompetent people make decisions?app Thoma said. appWeappre now going to put to death a person who is seriously mentally ill. Thatapps what we are going to do as a society. How low can we go?app
But Thoma doubts Gov. Eric Holcomb will step in and stop the execution.
appI think itapps a stain on our government app And I canappt believe there arenappt more people up in arms about this,app he said.
Indiana governor says heappll wait
Holcomb app who has repeatedly maintained that he supports capital punishment when appappropriate,app along with Indianaapps attorney general, announced in June that the stateapps Department of Correction .
Since then, the Republican governor has remained adamant that he wonappt decide whether to intervene until itapps apphis turn.app
When asked by the Capital Chronicle whether he considers Corcoran to be mentally ill, Holcomb said apphe is,app but that appthe courts have spoken to his ability to stand, to carry out the sentence and conviction.app
appI have read everything that (Corcoran) has written, what he said 20 years ago, what he says today,app the governor said, calling Corcoranapps November letter to the state supreme court appa hurdle to clear for his defense team app which he may be in disagreement with app which is interesting, to say the least.app
appI will reserve my final judgment until every step, every legal recourse and step, has been exhausted app when it becomes that the only option for change would be mine, not the courtapps intervention,app Holcomb added.
Correspondence obtained by the Capital Chronicle detail requests by Corcoranapps lawyers to arrange a meeting with Holcomb. The legal team also offered to arrange a sit-down with Dr. Angeline Stanislaus, a forensic psychiatrist and chief medical director for the Missouri Department of Mental Health. Komp said the governorapps office has so far denied requests to meet, however.
Holcomb made clear on Thursday that heapps waiting for judicial proceedings to conclude before he takes any action.
appIappm still waiting for the court process to play out, and weappll see what we learn. Thereapps still, I think, one more piece of the process that needs to occur,app he said, referring to Corcoranapps federal appeal. appThis has gone before state and federal courts over the last 25 years, and theyappre still, yet, part of that process to play out. And then weappll make decisions based on the most current app and hopefully final information that we are in receipt of.app
Ernst, who has not been involved in Corcoranapps legal saga, said she had earlier hoped that Holcomb would stay the execution. Her message to the governor now, appis that his family wants a pardon. Thatapps what we want for him.app
appI respect her very much for her opinion. And thatapps understandable,app Holcomb said in response. appI respect people on both sides of this issue, and I understand there are different degrees. I met with a lot of people on both sides of this issue. They know where I stand on the issue. I know where they stand. My job, as I see it, is to app as part of the process app to play my role. And the courts are what I look to app where he was sentenced and convicted, and time and time and time and time again, found to be competent to stand trial, and carried out the sentence. And that is the law of this land. And I took an oath to uphold the law of this land, and thatapps what I will do, given all the facts in its finality.app
Thoma noted an online defense attorney chat board is full of outrage over Delphi killer Richard Allenapps case, but there is nothing about Corcoran.
appHeapps not a very appealing defendant. Heapps just not very likable. He has no personality. Heapps a flatliner, shows no emotion. Thatapps the way God made him,app Thoma said.
He added that no one is disputing Corcoran is mentally ill and putting him to death is appbarbaric.app
Pleas for a pardon
A delegation of faith leaders opposed to the death penalty descended upon the Indiana capitol Thursday to deliver a letter to Holcomb, imploring him to stop Corcoranapps execution.
emphasized that their call appto refrain from restarting executions in Indiana is an expression of our desire to honor the sacred dignity of all people, including both victims and those who have caused immeasurable harm.app
appLike many of Indianaapps civil leaders who share our values, we long to see the mercy, compassion, equity, and justice of God reflected in public policies that promote safety, human dignity, and healing for all Hoosiers,app the letter read.
A small group, led by coalition president David Frank, hand-delivered the letter to Holcombapps office staff Thursday afternoon. A short prayer said aloud following the hand-off called for appchanged heartsapp and appchanged minds.app
They prayed, too, for Holcomb to apphave mercyapp and peace during the Christmas season, and appto really reconsiderapp Corcoranapps death sentence. Holcomb was not present for the groupsapp visit.
Their letter arrived at the Statehouse one week after Fort Wayne Republican Rep. Bob Morris called on Holcomb to block Corcoranapps execution app and death sentences for Indianaapps other death row inmates. The lawmaker additionally said he plans to introduce a bill in the 2025 legislative session to end capital punishment in Indiana, citing his belief that apponly one position honors our Lord and Savior, our Creator: to protect all human life.app
Separately, a previous denial by the stateapps correctional department to allow Corcoran to be accompanied by a spiritual advisor in the execution chamber was reversed on Thursday.
Komp, on Corcoranapps behalf, requested in November a appreligious accommodationapp for Corcoranapps execution.
Specifically, the death row inmateapps lawyer asked to have Corcoranapps Wesleyan minister appbe present in the execution chamber with a Bible, be permitted to pray with Mr. Corcoran, and be permitted to have limited physical contact with Mr. Corcoran by placing a hand on his shoulder or holding his hand until the execution is complete.app
IDOC counsel originally refused, saying the agency appwill not permit an outside person in the death chamber, as the safety, security and secrecy of those staff could be compromised.app
As of Thursday, an out-of-court agreement will permit the Rev. David Leitzel to be present in the chamber with limited physical contact.
Ernst said neither she nor her twin sister will attend the execution.
appWe just wonappt,app she said. appWe just think thatapps another thing thatapps going to stick with us the rest of our life.app
is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501(c)(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.
