Petitioning California State House and 4 others
An Innocent Man Could Be Put to Death
“The State of California May Be About To Execute An Innocent Man.” Judge William A. Fletcher- Ninth Circuit Court [Read full text].
In 1983, a family was brutally murdered, slashed over 144 times in 4 minutes. The only survivor was their 8-year-old son, who was left with his throat cut. According to 5 federal judges and many experts, the wrong man will be executed for these murders. Kevin Cooper, an African American man, was convicted of the killings despite two witnesses who said they saw white men driving away from the home in the family’s stolen car.
See: (video#1) (video#2) (video#3) Even the surviving child told the police that it was three white or Latino men who killed his family.
Cooper’s only hope is Gov. Jerry Brown. Unless Gov. Brown intervenes and commutes his death sentence, Kevin Cooper will be put to death. The facts of the case make it clear that a great injustice has occurred and must be corrected.
We ask Governor Jerry Brown to exercise his constitutionally mandated power to grant clemency. After the murders, a local woman went to police with the belief that her estranged husband, a convicted killer, was responsible for these murders. She said his hatchet was missing and turned over a pair of bloody overalls she found that night.
See CNN's investigative report. The police never tested the overalls. Instead, they threw them in a dumpster.
Eleven years later, in 2004, the Ninth Circuit Court halted Cooper’s execution only hours before it was to occur, ruling that some evidence used against him had been flawed and illegal: bloody shoe prints that couldn’t have belonged to Cooper, the destruction of the overalls, and other issues with the investigation. It was also discovered that the blood at the crime scene that the prosecution had said was Cooper’s actually had the DNA of two different people in it, a strong indication of lab error or deliberate tampering. Still, the California Supreme Court upheld Cooper’s conviction, and he could get his new execution date any day now. There is no doubt justice hasn’t been served. When it comes to the death penalty, we should be 100% certain of the person’s guilt.
Even some of the Jurors that sent Cooper to death row regretted. "I let the police misconduct go and sentenced Mr. Cooper to death," one wrote in 2004. "I now regret that decision." The evidence surrounding these murders, and the actions of the prosecution make it clear that Kevin Cooper should not be put to death due to overwhelming doubt.
On April 29, 2011, Cooper's attorneys Norman C. Haile and Katie C. De Witt of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP (a global law firm that represented Cooper for decades on pro bono basis) filed petition and request for precautionary measure with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ("IACHR"). There's no doubt that Kevin is deprived of fair trial and due process of law- a corner stone of every functioning society.
After four years of deliberation and thorough investigation of Kevin Cooper's petition, on September 12, 2015, the IACHR concluded in its 32-page report that Cooper's right to due process (substantive and procedural) had been violated. The Commission recommended: (a) review of Cooper's trial in accordance with the guarantees of due process and fair trial, (b) Cooper be tried in accordance with the rights enshrined under the American Declaration- as it applies to people accused of capital crimes, (c) effective legal counsel be appointed by state (Cooper had repeatedly claimed that the state-appointed counsels or public defenders failed to handle his case effectively). Full text of IACHR report.
Regardless of IACHR's findings, the five Federal Judges' well-reasoned dissent, overwhelming doubt, evidence tampering, pre-trial publicity of the case by the San Bernardino County Sheriffs, Kevin Cooper is slated to die.
Please sign the petition calling on Gov. Brown to intervene. Kevin Cooper is an innocent person and should be set free, let alone execution.
Learn more about Kevin Cooper and donate to his legal defense fund:
Thank you!
Esayas G
Photo Credit: Kevin Cooper's attorneys
In 1983, a family was brutally murdered, slashed over 144 times in 4 minutes. The only survivor was their 8-year-old son, who was left with his throat cut. According to 5 federal judges and many experts, the wrong man will be executed for these murders. Kevin Cooper, an African American man, was convicted of the killings despite two witnesses who said they saw white men driving away from the home in the family’s stolen car.
See: (video#1) (video#2) (video#3) Even the surviving child told the police that it was three white or Latino men who killed his family.
Cooper’s only hope is Gov. Jerry Brown. Unless Gov. Brown intervenes and commutes his death sentence, Kevin Cooper will be put to death. The facts of the case make it clear that a great injustice has occurred and must be corrected.
We ask Governor Jerry Brown to exercise his constitutionally mandated power to grant clemency. After the murders, a local woman went to police with the belief that her estranged husband, a convicted killer, was responsible for these murders. She said his hatchet was missing and turned over a pair of bloody overalls she found that night.
See CNN's investigative report. The police never tested the overalls. Instead, they threw them in a dumpster.
Eleven years later, in 2004, the Ninth Circuit Court halted Cooper’s execution only hours before it was to occur, ruling that some evidence used against him had been flawed and illegal: bloody shoe prints that couldn’t have belonged to Cooper, the destruction of the overalls, and other issues with the investigation. It was also discovered that the blood at the crime scene that the prosecution had said was Cooper’s actually had the DNA of two different people in it, a strong indication of lab error or deliberate tampering. Still, the California Supreme Court upheld Cooper’s conviction, and he could get his new execution date any day now. There is no doubt justice hasn’t been served. When it comes to the death penalty, we should be 100% certain of the person’s guilt.
Even some of the Jurors that sent Cooper to death row regretted. "I let the police misconduct go and sentenced Mr. Cooper to death," one wrote in 2004. "I now regret that decision." The evidence surrounding these murders, and the actions of the prosecution make it clear that Kevin Cooper should not be put to death due to overwhelming doubt.
On April 29, 2011, Cooper's attorneys Norman C. Haile and Katie C. De Witt of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP (a global law firm that represented Cooper for decades on pro bono basis) filed petition and request for precautionary measure with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ("IACHR"). There's no doubt that Kevin is deprived of fair trial and due process of law- a corner stone of every functioning society.
After four years of deliberation and thorough investigation of Kevin Cooper's petition, on September 12, 2015, the IACHR concluded in its 32-page report that Cooper's right to due process (substantive and procedural) had been violated. The Commission recommended: (a) review of Cooper's trial in accordance with the guarantees of due process and fair trial, (b) Cooper be tried in accordance with the rights enshrined under the American Declaration- as it applies to people accused of capital crimes, (c) effective legal counsel be appointed by state (Cooper had repeatedly claimed that the state-appointed counsels or public defenders failed to handle his case effectively). Full text of IACHR report.
Regardless of IACHR's findings, the five Federal Judges' well-reasoned dissent, overwhelming doubt, evidence tampering, pre-trial publicity of the case by the San Bernardino County Sheriffs, Kevin Cooper is slated to die.
Please sign the petition calling on Gov. Brown to intervene. Kevin Cooper is an innocent person and should be set free, let alone execution.
Learn more about Kevin Cooper and donate to his legal defense fund:
Thank you!
Esayas G
Photo Credit: Kevin Cooper's attorneys
Letter to
California State House
California State Senate
California Governor
and 2 others
Esayas Haile-Mariam G.
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