PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "(Cooper) was arrested in 1983 and convicted in 1985 for the gruesome murders of two children and two adults - but he has always maintained his innocence 'All we’re asking for is testing, [we're] not rushing to demand release,' Alexander told DailyMail.com on Saturday. He said he and Cooper's legal team had approached then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for help, and Alexander said he expressed concern about the evidence presented against Cooper, but referred it on to incoming Governor Jerry Brown. Brown is yet to act on requests for retesting of evidence in Cooper's case, labelling it a 'complicated' situation. 'It is inexplicable to everyone who is familiar with the case why Governor Brown will not order the retesting be done,' Alexander said. 'It is not a complicated case - it is a case with lots of instances of law enforcement misconduct. 'We've already proven the blood on the t-shirt was planted, then the person who did the testing withdrew the results, claiming contamination, and we could not get copies of the report.'"
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Jeff Gamso is one of the toughest, brightest, principled, fearless commentators on America's criminal justice system. As readers of his Blog - Gamso for the defence - well know, Gamso does not mince words. That's evident in his column on the Cooper case which will be immortalized by the following words: (With which I entirely agree.HL)
"JUST TEST THE FUCKING DNA"
http://gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.com/search?q=%22kevin+cooper%22
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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http://gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.com/search?q=%22kevin+cooper%22
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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STORY: "Kim Kardashian is now supporting a 'wrongly-convicted' death row inmate: Reality star urges California governor to test DNA of condemned prisoner who murdered four people, after she got Trump to pardon Alice Johnson," by reporter Hannah Moore published by The Daily Mail on June 17, 2018.
- SUB-HEADINGS: "Kim Kardashian is lobbying for new DNA testing on a 1980s murder case
- She asked California Governor Jerry Brown to allow the retesting via Twitter
- Kevin Cooper, who is believed to have been wrongfully convicted of the quadruple murder, has been requesting the retesting for years
- Cooper has been sentenced to death for his alleged role in the murder
- Kardashian recently met with President Trump about inmate Alice Johnson
- Shortly after, her life sentence was commuted and she was released
- David Alexander, who represents Cooper, says he'd happily meet Kardashian
- He says the reality star can make a difference with her vast influence Kim Kardashian has asked California Governor Jerry Brown to retest DNA evidence in a quadruple murder case from the 1980s to help a man on death row who may have been wrongfully convicted."
GIST: "After successfully seeing 63-year-old grandmother Alice Johnson's sentence commuted, Kim Kardashian has turned her sights on helping another prisoner she believes may have been wrongfully convicted. The reality queen took to Twitter
on Saturday to question the incarceration of Kevin Cooper, who has been
on death row for 33 years and will face the lethal injection for the
murders of four people, including two 10-year-old children. (Cooper) was arrested in 1983 and
convicted in 1985 for the gruesome murders of two children and two
adults - but he has always maintained his innocence 'All we’re asking for is testing, [we're] not rushing to demand release,' Alexander told DailyMail.com on Saturday. He
said he and Cooper's legal team had approached then-Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger for help, and Alexander said he expressed concern about
the evidence presented against Cooper, but referred it on to incoming
Governor Jerry Brown. Brown is yet to act on requests for retesting of evidence in Cooper's case, labelling it a 'complicated' situation. 'It is inexplicable to everyone who
is familiar with the case why Governor Brown will not order the
retesting be done,' Alexander said. 'It is not a complicated case - it is a case with lots of instances of law enforcement misconduct. 'We've
already proven the blood on the t-shirt was planted, then the person
who did the testing withdrew the results, claiming contamination, and we
could not get copies of the report.' Kevin
Cooper was sentenced to death in 1985 for the brutal slaying of Douglas
and Peggy Ryen, their 10-year-old daughter Jessica, and 10-year-old
Chris Hughes, who was staying at their house in the Los Angeles suburb
of Chino Hills. Cooper and his legal team
believe he was wrongly convicted and evidence was planted to incriminate
him. In 2014, he was just three hours from facing the death penalty
before Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urged a review of his case Their
eight-year-old son Josh was the only survivor, even though he had his
throat slit, and his account of that night would be the key to the
prosecution's case. Initially, police
were looking for three white or Mexican men, based on Josh's
recollection of the horrific killings and evidence which suggested there
were multiple people involved in the crime. Witnesses
also said they had seen three white men driving a station wagon,
believed to be the family car, away from the home - but police continued
to focus on Cooper. Cooper had recently escaped from a minimum security prison, and was hiding out at a home nearby, The New York Times reported. Prosecutors
said a footprint of a prison issued shoe was at the home, as were
cigarette butts with Cooper's DNA on them, and Josh eventually changed
his story to say he saw a black man at the scene, not three white men. Cooper
was sentenced to death in 1985, but during his appeal, retesting of
evidence, including a t-shirt believed to have belonged to the killer,
was found to have Cooper's blood - and test tube preservative on it. Josh Ryen was the only survivor of the
murder, and told police he had seen three white men at the home before
his throat was slit. This
indicated the blood on the shirt had been put there from inside a test
tube of Cooper's blood, not splattered on during the quadruple murder. The
test tube containing Cooper's blood had DNA of at least two people
inside, suggesting someone may have taken blood out of it and topped it
up to cover up their actions. Evidence
of another man being involved in the killing is overwhelming - Jessica,
the 10-year-old girl who was murdered, died with a chunk of light hair
in her hand, and the ex-wife of a convicted murderer who lived nearby
said the man had come to her home covered in blood and there was a
hatchet missing from her home. Alexander
told DailyMail.com his client is 'innocent' and had been both
'wrongfully incarcerated for 33 years and wrongfully convicted'. He
says he and Cooper would be 'happy to speak or meet with Ms
Kardashian', and said 'of course' her efforts would make a difference. 'I think support from any people who are interested in justice is important,' he said. 'I
don't know her from Adam, but I believe her speaking out and gathering
other people in Hollywood to speak out, or anyone who is interested in
criminal justice - speaking out and telling this Governor to have moral
leadership - to have courage - to be better than his best excuses - [is a
positive thing].' Kardashian made
headlines earlier this month after meeting with President Donald Trump
following months of campaigning for the release of Alice Johnson - a
63-year-old woman who was sentenced to life behind bars for her minor
role in a drug trafficking syndicate. Johnson,
who had been behind bars for 20 years, had her sentence commuted
earlier this month - and Kardashian was widely credited for her release. DailyMail.com have contacted Kim Kardashian for comment, but did not receive a response before publication.
David Alexander, a
representative for Cooper (pictured during his sentencing in 1985) says
he would be happy to meet with Kardashian and says he believes she can
make a difference."
The entire story can be read at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5852437/Kim-Kardashian-pleads-new-DNA-testing-wrongly-convicted-man-death-row.html
PUBLISHER'S
NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles
Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous
employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable
effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his
protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic
pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses
on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/c
