FORT WAYNE The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered a federal appeals court to reconsider arguments from a Fort Wayne man fighting his death sentence for killing four people, including his brother.

The federal appeals court in Chicago had ruled in December that Indiana officials could reinstate the death penalty against 34-year-old Joseph E. Corcoran for the 1997 quadruple murder. That court ruled prosecutors didn’t act improperly by pursuing the death penalty against Corcoran after he demanded a jury trial.

The Supreme Court, however, said Tuesday that the appeals court also should have ruled on the other arguments from Corcoran’s attorney. Those include that he shouldn’t be executed because he has paranoid schizophrenia.

Star news services