If Joseph Corcoran had been sentenced to death just a few miles to the east, across the border in Ohio instead of in Fort Wayne, Indiana, it’s likely that a court would have barred his execution. Ohio law prevents a person with a serious mental illness (SMI) at the time of their crime, defined as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or delusional disorder, from being put to death. Mr. Corcoran, who has a long history of paranoid schizophrenia diagnoses by at least five different doctors, volunteered for execution and believes that prison guards are torturing him with an ultrasound machine. But Indiana has no SMI law, and Mr. Corcoran is scheduled for execution before sunrise on Wednesday, December 18 — the state’s first execution in 15 years. Unlike all other active death penalty states, journalists will not be allowed to observe. Indiana’s effort to restart executions has provoked serious concerns about Mr. Corcoran’s mental competency, his right to have a spiritual advisor present in the death chamber, and the state’s lack of transparency. Spiritual groups, victims’ family members, and the original prosecutor in the case all favor stopping Mr. Corcoran’s execution.
“The Torture That Is Not Real”
Evidence of Mr. Corcoran’s serious mental illness dates to his early childhood, including self-isolation, self-harm, and “extreme paranoia.” At age 22 in 1997, he shot his brother, his sister’s fiancé, and two friends after overhearing the men talking about him. He immediately admitted guilt and asked a neighbor to call the police. Before trial, he rejected a plea deal, saying he would only agree if the state “would sever his vocal cords first because his involuntary speech allowed others to know his innermost thoughts.” Five doctors who diagnosed him with schizophrenia concluded that he was incompetent to stand trial or waive his appeals, but courts permitted him to do both even as they acknowledged his delusions.
