[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] From public hangings in the town square to lethal injections witnessed by journalists, executions historically have mostly been carried out with at least some public scrutiny. That was not the case in Indiana early Wednesday, when state prison officials announced they had executed Joseph Corcoran without any independent witnesses present. The unusual secrecy is the result of state laws shielding information about the death penalty, and some First Amendment advocates and death penalty experts say the lack of transparency during the gravest of government punishments is alarming. Media witnesses play a crucial role in executions by providing the public with independent, firsthand and factual accounts of an execution, said Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). “Media ensures government accountability and transparency in an otherwise closed and secretive process,” Maher said.