Attorneys representing convicted murderer Joseph Corcoran filed a new request before the Indiana Supreme Court Friday. The move came hours after the court denied his request for a stay of execution.
In the new motion for a stay, attorneys for the condemned man argued that the state’s highest court as well as Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull overlooked new evidence cited in the earlier motions filed over the past few weeks.
That new evidence included sworn affidavits from his attorneys at the time of his trial for the murders of his brother, sister’s fiancé, and two friends.
In those affidavits, attorneys John Nimmo and Mark Thoma said they did not have access to all of the necessary information about Corcoran’s mental condition, including his paranoid schizophrenia, at the time.
Because they didn’t know how bad it was, that information was never heard by a jury and Corcoran was likely tried while incompetent.
Those affidavits “establish trial court error,” according to the new motion.
Friday evening, the state's highest court ordered the office of Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita to file its response to this latest post-conviction filing by noon on Monday.
Late Thursday, Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Loretta Rush issued an order denying Corcoran's earlier request for a stay of execution.
The decision was split, with Justices Mark Massa, Geoffrey Slaughter, and Derek Molter ruled in favor of Corcoran’s execution. Chief Justice Rush and Justice Christopher Goff opposed it.
Corcoran’s death penalty case has wound its way through state and federal courts since his conviction in 1999. At issue has largely been his mental health and persistent delusions he has suffered over the years.
If this stay is not granted, Corcoran is scheduled to be executed before sunrise on Dec. 18.
Corcoran himself wrote a letter to the state's highest court, saying he does not want to participate in any further appeals or litigation and requested the court withdraw his counsel's motions.
When Rush issued the court's ruling Thursday evening, she promised a swift opinion explaining the rationale behind the decision to deny the stay.
As of Friday night, no such opinion has been issued.
