state execution

Little is known about Indiana's protocols for using pentobarbital, a drug used by Department of Correction officials to carry out two recent state executions.

Gov. Mike Braun open to discussion about future of capital punishment in Indiana

Brandon Smith

Indiana went 15 years without executing someone on death row before executing two men in the last six months.

Outside the Indiana State Prison on Monday, May 19, 2025, in Michigan City. Media were not permitted to witness death row inmate Benjamin Ritchie’s execution and were instead restricted to the state prison parking lot.

State executes death row inmate Benjamin Ritchie for fatal shooting of police officer

Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle

No media were present when the execution took place early Tuesday morning.

Indiana Capital Chronicle suing the state for execution drug transparency

Niki Kelly, Indiana Capital Chronicle

The state has not disclosed how much it paid to acquire pentobarbital, the drug used in the recent execution of convicted killer Joseph Corcoran.

Death Penalty Action, a nonprofit that advocates against executions, encouraged protestors to ring the “Delaware Bell” as a sign of their opposition to the death penalty while gathered outside the Indiana State Prison on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Michigan City.

Death row inmate Joseph Corcoran executed for quadruple murder

Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle

The Capital Chronicle was the only media present for the execution inside the Indiana State Prison.

Indiana’s governor and attorney general have asked to set an execution date for Fort Wayne’s Joseph Corcoran, who was convicted in a 1997 quadruple homicide

Indiana Supreme Court declines to halt execution, allow for case review

Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle

Convicted murderer Joseph Corcoran told the high court justices he did not want to pursue further appeals and instead wishes to be executed on Dec. 18, as scheduled.

Attorneys for the state are pushing back on attempts by convicted murderer Joseph Corcoran's legal team to delay or overturn his scheduled execution.

Refusing to sign clemency petition, Indiana Supreme Court weighs death row inmate’s final plea

Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle

Joseph Corcoran’s Dec. 18 execution date will remain unless the state’s high court justices accept his legal team’s motion for a stay.

Indiana’s attorney general is seeking court approval to carry out the execution of death row inmate Benjamin Ritchie, who was convicted in 2002 for killing a law enforcement officer from Beech Grove.

Indiana Attorney General’s Office seeks second execution date

Whitney Downard and Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle

Ritchie was convicted in 2002 for the murder of a Beech Grove police officer.

Corcoran's execution was the first in which Indiana used the one-drug method. Previously, the state used a lethal combination of three substances to induce death.

What is pentobarbital? More questions than answers surround Indiana’s new execution drug

Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle

The drug has been used by the feds and in other states, but officials are hushed about its origins, cost and standards for administration.

Joseph Corcoran scheduled to be executed before sunrise Dec. 18 at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.

State wants execution date set for convicted Fort Wayne murderer

Rebecca Green, WBOI

In a press release announcing their request, Gov. Eric Holcomb and Attorney General Todd Rokita say they reacquired pentobarbital, the drug used in executions.