Joseph Corcoran

This is one of the cases that I am actually surprised that I have not blogged about before. It is a crime that happened in my state and the perpetrator was sentenced to death so every few years his case seems to be back in the news. It is also a case that irritates me just a tiny bit. I have often stated that I am neither an advocate nor an opponent of the death penalty. But, I also find it ridiculous all of the inmates that remain on death row when a state has not executed anyone in several years nor do they look to have plans to do so any time soon. While Corcoran was sentenced long before the last execution took place in Indiana in 2009, three people went on death row in 2013. As of 2018 there are no scheduled executions planned in the state despite there being eleven death row inmates. Three of those inmates, including Debra Brown who is held in Ohio for the crimes she committed with Alton Coleman, were sentenced before Joseph Corcoran. And, to be fair one of those men is John Stephenson, someone I have blogged about. In the Stephenson case I questioned the evidence that was used to convict him and later place him on death row. That is not the case when it comes to Joseph Corcoran.

On the evening of July 26, 1997 police were called to a home in Fort Wayne Indiana. The call apparently was made by a neighbor of Joseph Corcoran, although to be fair there may have been several made but this was the important one. Corcoran had gone to the neighbors home and told them to call the police as he had just shot four people in his home. When authorities arrived they found thirty year old James Corcoran, thirty-two year old Robert Turner and thirty year old Timothy Bricker dead in the living room of the home. In the kitchen they would find the body of thirty year old Douglas Stillwell. Stillwell had apparently been fleeing when he was gunned down. A seven year old girl was upstairs in the home, unharmed. Authorities would retrieve her and have her cover her eyes as they brought her through the home. Joseph Corcoran surrendered to authorities at the scene.

It is not completely clear but it is likely that some of the investigators in this case were already familiar with Joseph Corcoran. The twenty-two year old man had gone on trial for the 1992 of his parents, Jack and Kathryn Corcoran, when he was sixteen years old. He had been acquitted in that trial when the jury simply said they did not have enough evidence to convict him. Here it was just five years later and he was confessing to murdering four men. By 1997 Joseph was living in a home with his sister, Kelly Nieto, his brother James and Kelly's finance Robert Turner. Kelly had been gone at the store at the time of the murders. Her daughter was at home with her two brothers and finance. Douglas Stillwell and Timothy Bricker were visiting with their friend, James Corcoran. Both Kelly and James had fiercely supported their brother when he was put on trial for the murders of their parents. However, Kelly would say that as soon as she returned and learned he had murdered the four men she knew immediately that he was guilty of killing her parents and she had wrongly supported him.

For his part Joseph would claim that the four men were all downstairs in the front room while he and his niece were upstairs. He claimed that he overheard the four men talking about him and made sure his niece stayed in her room, loaded a rifle and headed downstairs to confront the men. As he opened fire and shot at the men Douglas Stillwell had ran towards the kitchen. Joseph chased him down and shot him there. He then laid down the gun and went to the neighbors home and told them to call the police. There was never any mention that there had been anything used to muffle the sounds of the shots which is why I mentioned I am unsure that this was the only call made to 911.

Much was made about the fact that when authorities searched his room and the attic area in which only he had access to that between twenty and thirty firearms had been found. It was also said that explosives and military issued books were found. While yes, this obviously seems like a lot and in normal situations would sound as if he was collecting an arsenal to use at some point, I have to be fair in saying I am not sure that is the case. It was said that Joseph's parents had a collection of guns themselves when they had been murdered in 1992. While it was not specifically stated, I cannot say for sure that many, or most of the guns found in 1997 had been the ones belonged to his parents.

Before his trial even began his attorney told the media that his client was guilty. At trial they would claim insanity saying that he had been diagnosed with having either a paranoid or schizophrenic personality disorder. Whether that has been confirmed over the years or has just elaborated upon is unclear. Some information states that while in prison he has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia but as I said I am unsure that this has not simply been elaborated upon from the diagnosis prior to his trial.

On April 14, 1992 authorities found the bodies of Jack and Kathryn Corcoran in their home. It is not clear exactly who found them or what circumstances led to the discovery but while authorities would say that they believed Joseph to be responsible it also indicates that the bodies were found fairly quickly and Joseph was informed of their deaths while he was in class at the local high school. They had both been shot. The prosecutors would allege that Joseph had shot his parents because they were “too strict” and after doing so he had simply gotten on the bus and gone to school. They would claim that there was no evidence that indicated that anyone else could have committed the murders and witnesses testified that Joseph had offered “several friends” a shot gun and money if they would kill his parents for him. His trial lasted five days and as I stated both his brother and sister staunchly supported his innocence and upon his release he moved in with his sister and finished high school. It has been said that throughout his years in prison he has not only admitted to killing his parents but has bragged about it.

Joseph Corcoran was sentenced to death on August 26, 1999. His sister, Kelly has been quoted as saying, “I hope he fries.” At some point the 7^th Circuit Court overturned his death sentence but in 2010 the United States Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty. It was said in a July 2016 article that all of his state and federal appeals had run out. But, as I stated earlier, the state of Indiana has not executed an inmate since they executed Matthew Eric Wrinkles in 2009. As of July 2018 none of the eleven inmates on Indiana Death Row has a scheduled execution date. The death penalty has always been a hot topic but in my opinion some states have stopped executions, even by law, others are beginning the process again. Several states, such as California, have had issues with their statutes being ruled unconstitutional and claim to be working on them but they have often taken decades already to reconcile. The fact that Corcoran is only in his early forties now could mean that he may one day see the execution chamber as long as Indiana does not fully eliminate the death penalty. But, it does not seem as if it will happen any time in the near future.