United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit No. 13-1318 JOSEPH E. CORCORAN, Petitioner-Appellant,

v. RON NEAL, Superintendent,* Respondent-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division. No. 3:05-CV-389 JD — Jon E. DeGuilio, Judge.

ARGUED NOVEMBER 5, 2013 — DECIDED APRIL 14, 2015

Before BAUER, WILLIAMS, and SYKES, Circuit Judges. SYKES, Circuit Judge. In 1997 Joseph Corcoran shot and killed four men at his home in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A jury

* Pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 43(c), we have substi- tuted Ron Neal, Superintendent, for Bill Wilson as the named respondent. 2 No. 13-1318 convicted him of four counts of murder and recommended the death penalty. The trial judge agreed and imposed a death sentence in accordance with the jury’s recommendation. After his appeals in state court had run their course, Corcoran sought federal habeas relief on multiple grounds. We resolved some of his claims in earlier opinions and Corcoran has abandoned others; only two issues remain. Corcoran argues that the trial judge impermissibly relied on nonstatu- tory aggravating factors and failed to consider mitigating evidence when deciding whether to impose the death penalty. In a thorough opinion, the district court rejected these claims and denied the writ. We affirm. First, the Indiana Supreme Court held that the trial judge did not in fact rely on nonstatutory aggravating factors. We previously disagreed with that determination, but our earlier decision—now vacated—did not adequately grapple with the deference owed to state-court factual findings under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2). Giving the matter a fresh look through the lens of AEDPA’s deferential standard of review, we now conclude that the state supreme court’s factual determination was not unreasonable. Second, the Indiana Supreme Court reasonably determined that the trial judge considered all proffered evidence in mitigation. The sentencer’s obligation to consider mitigating evidence in a capital case does not require that the evidence be credited or given any particular weight in the final sentencing decision. No. 13-1318 3

I. Background This case has a long and complex history in state and federal court, most of which is not relevant here and can be found in our earlier opinions. See Corcoran v. Wilson (“Corcoran XI”), 651 F.3d 611 (7th Cir. 2011); Corcoran v. Levenhagen (“Corcoran IX”), 593 F.3d 547 (7th Cir. 2010); and Corcoran v. Buss (“Corcoran VII”), 551 F.3d 703 (7th Cir. 2008). We will repeat the facts and procedural history only as necessary to resolve the remaining claims. On the evening of July 26, 1997, Corcoran was in his bedroom in the Fort Wayne home he shared with his sister when he heard men talking downstairs and became angry because he thought they were talking about him. He loaded his rifle and went downstairs to confront them. In the living room, he found his brother Jim Corcoran; their sister’s fiancé, Scott Turner; and two of Jim’s friends, Timothy Bricker and Doug Stillwell. Corcoran shot the first three men at close range, killing them. Stillwell tried to escape, but Corcoran chased him into the kitchen and killed him too with a shot to the back of the head. Corcoran was charged in state court with four counts of murder. Indiana sought the death penalty based on the statutory aggravating circumstance of multiple murders. See IND. CODE § 35-50-2-9(b)(7)–(8) (1997).1

1 Our citations are to the version of the statute in effect in 1997. See Jacobs