Joseph Corcoran, who is now on death row for multiple murders, is the state’s choice to begin state-sanctioned executions in Indiana once again.
Following the acquisition of the medicine necessary for lethal injections, Republican Governor Eric Holcomb of Indiana said that the state would restart executions for the first time in more than ten years.
Corcoran, who was found guilty of the 1997 murders of four individuals, will be the first to die when the resumption of executions begins, according to Holcomb, who announced on Wednesday.
Republican Todd Rokita, the state’s attorney general, filed a motion with the state supreme court to schedule the execution.
According to Holcomb’s announcement, the sedative pentobarbital has finally been obtained by the Indiana Department of Correction after “years of effort.” This substance is used in fatal injections by numerous states.
The Death Penalty Information Center reports that the most recent execution in the Hoosier State occurred in 2009. Matthew Eric Wrinkles murdered his wife, brother, and sister-in-law.
The lack of fatal injection medications has been the reason for the years-long halt.
The federal lawyer for Corcoran, Larry Komp, has stated that his client would reply to the state’s petition and seek clarification regarding the state’s process for administering the death penalty via injection.
The Death Penalty Information Center reports that pentobarbital was initially introduced in 2010.
The most popular method of execution in the United States, lethal injection, is becoming more and more challenging to carry out, prompting several states to seek other means of execution. An attempt was made using nitrogen gas earlier this year in Alabama, making it the first state to do so.
By 2016, Corcoran’s (now 49 years old) federal appeals were concluded. According to documents from the Department of Correction, he is now being imprisoned at Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.
The Death Penalty Information Center reports that eight individuals are now awaiting execution in the Hoosier State.
