The Indiana Supreme Court has turned down a request to stay the execution of Joseph Corcoran, a Fort Wayne man sentenced to death for the 1997 killings of four people, including his own brother. According to FOX59, Corcoran's execution by lethal injection is set for Dec. 18, marking him as the first person to be executed in the state since 2009.

Corcoran was found guilty in the fatal shootings of his brother, James Corcoran; his sister's fiance, Robert Scott Turner; and friends Timothy Bricker and Douglas Stillwell in 1999. Throughout his time on death row, he has fought against his death sentence, proposing that his diagnosed "long-standing mental illness" should exempt him from execution. Despite these pleas, the highest court in the state has chosen not to intervene, as reported by FOX59. 

21Alive News reports that the Indiana Supreme Court promised to "promptly issue a written opinion explaining its reasons" for the rejection of the stay without specifying a release date. The decision to proceed with the execution comes amid broader discussions about the death penalty in Indiana. Pentobarbital, an drug used for lethal injections, had led to the halt of executions after the state ran out of its supply. Governor Eric Holcomb announced earlier this year that the state had obtained the drug again, rejuvenating the discussion and process of state-sanctioned executions.

Corcoran's legal team has argued that his mental illness significantly impacted his decision-making during the trial, including his rejection of a plea bargain that would have removed the death penalty as an option. "Joe's ultimate refusal to accept either a plea bargain to life to life without parole or a bench trial without the death penalty was a product of his mental illness," his legal team relayed in a statement obtained by WTHR.

However, the Indiana Attorney General’s Office contends that Corcoran's attorneys have not sufficiently demonstrated that he is incompetent for execution, according to 21Alive News.

In the midst of these events, State Rep. Bob Morris (R-Fort Wayne) has introduced a bill that would potentially repeal the death penalty in Indiana. Additionally, Morris has reached out to Gov. Eric Holcomb with a letter requesting a postponement of state-level executions until after the legislators reconvene, providing them an opportunity to consider the proposed bill.