US state of Indiana carries out first execution in 15 years

The U.S. state of Indiana carried out its first execution in 15 years early Wednesday, putting to death a mentally ill man convicted of killing four people in 1997, including his brother.

Joseph Corcoran, 49, was executed by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 12:44 a.m. at the Indiana State Prison, officials said.

According to the Indiana Department of Correction, his last words were, "Not really. Let's get this over with."

Corcoran’s attorneys argued his execution violated the Constitution, citing his longstanding paranoid schizophrenia. Court filings revealed he suffered hallucinations and delusions, falsely believing prison guards were torturing him with an ultrasound machine.

Despite their arguments, Corcoran wrote to the Indiana Supreme Court last month, saying he no longer wished to pursue litigation. His legal team, however, filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which was denied.

Corcoran was convicted of fatally shooting his brother James Corcoran, 30, and three other men in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in July 1997. Court documents indicated he was under stress about his sister’s upcoming marriage, which would force him out of the shared home.

He had also been acquitted in 1992 of his parents’ murders after they were found shot to death.

Corcoran’s execution marks the 24th carried out in the U.S. this year. While three executions used nitrogen gas, most states, including Indiana, rely on lethal injection.

Indiana had paused executions since 2009 due to difficulties procuring execution drugs. However, Governor Eric Holcomb and Attorney General Todd Rokita announced this summer that the state had secured pentobarbital and would resume capital punishment, beginning with Corcoran.

The death penalty remains contentious in the U.S., with 23 states abolishing it and six others imposing moratoriums.