An Indiana man convicted of killing four people, including his brother and his sister’s fiancé, in 1997 was executed Wednesday in the state’s first execution in 15 years.

According to the Indiana Department of Correction, 49-year-old Joseph Corcoran was pronounced dead at 12:44 a.m. CST at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, Indiana. This is the 24th execution in the US this year. He was scheduled to be executed with the powerful sedative pentobarbital, although officials did not mention that drug in their statement.

Prison officials said his last meal was Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Corcoran was convicted in the July 1997 shooting death of his brother, 30-year-old James Corcoran; his sister’s fiancé, 32-year-old Robert Scott Turner, and two other men, 30-year-old Timothy G. Bricker and 30-year-old Douglas A. Stillwell.

INDIANA WILL CONDUCT THE FIRST STATE EXECUTION IN 15 YEARS

Before the shooting, Corcoran was under stress because his sister’s upcoming wedding would require a move from the Fort Wayne, Indiana, home he shared with his brother and sister, according to court documents.

During his time in prison for those murders, Corcoran reportedly bragged about shooting and killing his parents in Steuben County in northern Indiana in 1992, for which he was charged but later acquitted.

Wednesday’s execution comes after Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, announced plans in June to restart state executions after a 15-year hiatus caused by difficulties obtaining lethal injections.

The state provided limited information about the execution process, and under state law, no members of the press were allowed to testify. But Corcoran chose a reporter from the Indiana Capital Chronicle as one of his witnesses.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Indiana and Wyoming are the only two states in the country that do not allow members of the media to attend state executions.

Corcoran’s lawyers had been challenging his death sentence for years, claiming he was severely mentally ill, which affected his ability to understand and make decisions. Earlier this month, the state Supreme Court rejected a request from his lawyers to stop his execution.

He exhausted his federal appeals in 2016, but his lawyers last week asked the U.S. District Court for Northern Indiana to stop his execution and hold a hearing to decide whether it would be unconstitutional because Corcoran suffers from serious mental illness. The court refused to intervene on Friday, after which another request from the US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit was denied on Tuesday.

Corcoran’s lawyers then made a final plea, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to issue an emergency order blocking his execution, but also rejected their request for a stay late Tuesday.

Defense attorney Larry Komp said he was disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision and said the issue surrounding Corcoran’s mental health was not properly considered.

INDIANA IS TO CONDUCT THE FIRST EXECUTION IN 15 YEARS AFTER RECEIVING A LETHAL INJECTIVE

“There has never been a hearing to determine whether he is fit to be executed,” Komp said in a statement to The Associated Press. “It is an absolute failure of the rule of law to carry out an execution when the law and due process have not been followed.”

Corcoran’s only remaining option to extend his life after the legal challenges was Holcomb, who could have commuted Corcoran’s death sentence but chose not to.

Holcomb’s office released a statement Wednesday following Corcoran’s execution.

“Joseph Corcoran’s case has been reviewed repeatedly over the past 25 years – including seven times by the Indiana Supreme Court and three times by the U.S. Supreme Court, most recently tonight,” Holcomb said. “His sentence was never overturned and was carried out as ordered by the court.”

The last state execution in Indiana was in 2009, when Matthew Wrinkles was put to death for killing his wife, her brother and sister-in-law in 1994. Since then, 13 executions have been carried out in the state, but these were initiated and carried out by federal officials in a federal prison in 2020 and 2021.

State officials said they could not resume executions because the combination of drugs used in lethal injections was unavailable.

There has been a shortage of drugs across the country for years because drug companies have refused to sell them for executions, forcing states including Indiana to turn to compounding pharmacies that make drugs specifically for customers. Some of these pharmacies use more accessible medications like the sedatives pentobarbital or midazolam, which critics say can cause severe pain.

At midnight, a group of anti-death penalty activists began singing “Amazing Grace.”

Religious groups, disability rights advocates and others have spoken out against Corcoran’s execution. About a dozen people, including some holding candles, held a vigil late Tuesday to pray outside the prison.

“We can build a society without giving government authorities the right to execute their own citizens,” said Bishop Robert McClory of the Diocese of Gary, who led the prayers.

Other opponents of the death penalty also protested outside the prison on Tuesday evening, with some holding signs reading “Execution is not the solution” and “Remember the victims, but not more killings.”

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“There is no need or benefit from this execution. This is all a show,” said Abraham Borowitz, director of Death Penalty Action, whose organization protests every execution in the United States.

Corcoran’s wife, Tahina Corcoran, told reporters outside the prison that her husband was “very mentally ill” and that she did not believe he fully understood what was happening to him.

“He is in shock. He doesn’t understand,” she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.