Outcome: INDIANA’S FIRST EXECUTION IN 15 YEARS LOOMS

UA: 105.24 USA
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This action ended on December 18, 2024

Outcome: We have sad news regarding the situation of Joseph Corcoran. He was executed in Indiana in the early hours of 18 December 2024. He was convicted in 1999 of the murder of four men in 1997 and sentenced to death. He had long been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, with symptoms that include hallucinations and delusions. Final appeals were rejected and the governor declined to intervene.

Joseph Corcoran is scheduled to be executed in Indiana on December 18, 2024. He was convicted in 1999 of the murder of four men in 1997, including his brother and future brother-in-law, and sentenced to death. He has long been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, with symptoms that include hallucinations and delusions.

In 2002, Indiana Supreme Court Justice Robert Rucker wrote that “Corcoran is obviously severely mentally ill”.  In 2003, three experts testified that Joseph Corcoran had paranoid schizophrenia, with symptoms including delusions and hallucinations that explained his decision to waive his appeals.

International law and standards prohibit the use of the death penalty on those with mental (psychosocial disabilities) who have limited ability to defend themselves on an equal basis with others, including due to lack of procedural accommodation.

We are calling on the Governor to stop his execution and to ensure that his death sentence is commuted.

Indiana accounts for 20 of the USA’s 1,605 executions since 1976. There have been 23 executions in the USA this year. This would be Indiana’s first execution since December 11, 2009. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases unconditionally.   

Please take action by December 18, 2024.

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