Indiana death row inmate scheduled for execution in December

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- An Indiana death row inmate is scheduled to be executed in December in what will be the state's first execution since 2009.

The Indiana Supreme Court on Wednesday set Joseph Corcoran's execution date for Dec. 18. He's a convicted murderer responsible for killing four people in 1997.

The state says Corcoran has exhausted all of his appeals.

In June, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and Attorney General Todd Rokita announced Indiana prisons will resume executions.

"We are profoundly disappointed in the setting of the date," Corcoran's attorney, Larry Komp, told WDRB.

Komp is with the Federal Public Defender Office for the Western District of Missouri.

"We strongly believe that there was a means for the Indiana Supreme Court to address the questions raised," Komp said. "Especially when we are talking about executing someone who is so profoundly mentally ill, something the Attorney General conceded. We will consider our options going forward given the Indiana Supreme Court indicated that there are procedures to raise these issues."

Before a date was set, Komp had relayed his objections to WDRB.

"We are concerned by the resumption of executions with no transparency regarding the drugs and how they intend to use them," Komp said. "We have pending public records requests that remain unanswered. In Mr. Corcoran’s circumstances, the unquestionable tragedy had its roots in mental illness.

He continued: "Mr. Corcoran is a person with a serious mental illness. Ohio and Kentucky, the only other two death penalty states around Indiana, have taken the pro-life position of not executing those people suffering from serious mental illnesses. Our pending filing simply suggests Indiana should consider doing the same. "

There are eight death row inmates in the state, including serial killer William Clyde Gibson from New Albany. There is no word on when Gibson's death sentence will be carried out.

Gibson was convicted of killing three women, including 45-year-old Karen Hodella, who was stabbed to death on her 45th birthday. He also killed his mother's friend, 75-year-old Christine Whitis, and 35-year-old Stephanie Kirk, whose body was found in Gibson's backyard.

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