One Test Could Exonerate Him. Why Won’t They Do It?
May 20, 2018 9:20 AM   Subscribe

Kevin Cooper is awaiting execution for a quadruple murder. But he may have been framed. [Note: graphic images.]

"This is the story of a broken justice system. It appears that an innocent man was framed by sheriff’s deputies and is on death row in part because of dishonest cops, sensational media coverage and flawed political leaders — including Democrats like Brown and Kamala Harris, the state attorney general before becoming a U.S. senator, who refused to allow newly available DNA testing for a black man convicted of hacking to death a beautiful white family and young neighbor. This was a failure at every level, and it should prompt reflection not just about one man on death row but also about profound inequities in our entire system of justice."
posted by standardasparagus (15 comments total) 18 users marked this as a favorite
 
There are photos of the crime scenes and depictions of the victims wounds. Be warned.
posted by klanawa at 10:27 AM on May 20, 2018 [3 favorites]


I'm hoping for a stronger statement from Kamala Harris than the brief Facebook post she made. Here is a letter from Sister Helen Prejean in support of Cooper's request from a year ago.

A year ago I made an FPP about the rush to execute 8 men in Arkansas before their supply of midazolam "expired." The death penalty is never anything short of Kafkaesque.
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 10:48 AM on May 20, 2018 [10 favorites]


As a result of reading this, I’ve lost some respect for Gov. Jerry Brown and Kamala Harris. The testing needs to be done.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 10:49 AM on May 20, 2018 [7 favorites]


We have a system of policing and punishment, we do not have a justice system. It is operating as intended.
posted by Anchorite_of_Palgrave at 11:18 AM on May 20, 2018 [11 favorites]


Nothing else explains its resistance to evidence and scientific rigor and its enthusiasm for getting good statistics
posted by Anchorite_of_Palgrave at 11:19 AM on May 20, 2018


I think the question is answered by itself. They, both Harris and Brown, refused the testing **BECAUSE** it could exonerate Cooper and they're both firmly committed to a system that measures success in terms of black people executed and black men convicted of crimes.

This case is more blatantly racist than many, with the police literally discarding and destroying evidence that could have implicated white people in order to pursue a black man, but at heart the US system of criminal justice is racist and devoted to imprisoning black people whether or not they committed any crimes.

Brown and Harris are better than the average politician, certainly better than the Republicans, in that they at least express the occasional bit of remorse or regret when called on the injustice and racism at the core of the system. The Republicans, by comparison, revel in it.

But this is one area where saying "both sides are the same" is largely true.

Democrats, especially those trying to make a run for national office, often act as if they were running for the position of chief executioner. Even Ann Richards, an otherwise funny, compassionate, and fairly left wing Democrat, was rabid in her advocacy of the death penalty. Remember that Bill Clinton suspended his first Presidential campaign to return to Arkansas in order to preside over the execution of a mentally handicapped black man who may have been framed.

Worse, once in office Democrats do not advocate for criminal justice reform, and Democratic appointees to various courts do not permit criminal justice reform.

The Supreme Court, for example, was unanimous in Whren v United States and **EXPLICITLY** rejected the idea that statistically provable racism in traffic stops was sufficient cause to consider racism in traffic stops. They ruled, basically, that the only way racism could be considered a factor was if an individual police officer was on record as explicitly stating that they stopped a particularity motorist because they had animosity towards the motorist's race.

Justice Ginsburg joined in that unanimous decision and basically handed America's police a license to discriminate.

There are many, many, areas where the Democrats are vastly superior to the Republicans. Racism in our system of criminal justice is demonstrably not one of those areas.
posted by sotonohito at 11:30 AM on May 20, 2018 [17 favorites]


I lost respect for Brown so long ago I can't even remember what did it for me, but what the fuck are you doing, Harris?
posted by cj_ at 11:48 AM on May 20, 2018 [1 favorite]


Now if Republicans were to seize on this and make it a campaign issue... you know, racist democrats willfully executing a black man without examining evidence that would likely exonerate him .................
posted by notreally at 12:46 PM on May 20, 2018


Yeah, if I were American, this alone would ensure that Harris would never receive a vote from me for anything. There are little burble hints that she may be considering a White House run. Reading this, she's not qualified.
posted by dobbs at 1:49 PM on May 20, 2018 [1 favorite]


Um, anybody other than our current incumbent is pretty much going to get my vote. We're not going to get the opportunity to vote for Gandhi or Jesus.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 7:15 PM on May 20, 2018 [8 favorites]


I wish I had a cogent thing to say that wasn't howling, but I just.... goddamn, I do not like this timeline.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 8:09 AM on May 21, 2018


lots of potential bad takes here but "and here's why this otherwise qualified woman should never be elected president" is definitely one that was always going to show up no matter what
posted by prize bull octorok at 10:42 AM on May 21, 2018 [1 favorite]


"and here's why this otherwise qualified woman should never be elected president"

"Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"
posted by sideshow at 11:17 AM on May 21, 2018


To add more to my glib comment: I like Harris (I voted for her and gave her some money), and being a prosecutor/DA/Attorney General means you work for The State and sometimes you have to put your employer ahead of your personal beliefs, but I'm seeing a lot of "She is black and woman and therefore untouchable" when it comes to her political history.

If she wants to be President she needs to give answers for questions about actions she's taken in the past. In truth, a lot of it will be Swift Boating bullshit. However, "how dare you tear down a PoC woman" is not the right away to approach this.
posted by sideshow at 11:26 AM on May 21, 2018 [2 favorites]


If she wants to be President she needs to give answers for questions about actions she's taken in the past.

Not really. She could tell me that she just didn't like this guy's face, and I'd still vote for her over Trump. Pretty much every politician has done terrible things. I don't expect to like the person who ends up on the Democratic ticket in 2020—whoever they are, they will almost certainly be a power-hungry egotist who thinks they should be in charge of everything (unless it's Warren, who I genuinely believe would really rather not be in politics at all) and who has stomped on any number of throats to get where they are. That's politics in America; it's ugly and nasty and evil and pretty much ensures that nobody can succeed unless an overweening lust for power is the defining force in their life. You also need to be savvy enough to put a mask over that most of the time, but it's folly to believe that the mask is the real person.

All we can do is look at the policies someone is pushing, look at their track record in public life (including the nasty things they've done, like this) and then compare them to their opponent. And when it comes down to that last step, I can't imagine that the Democrats will put forth someone who I won't vote for. Somebody is going to be in charge, and it better fucking well not be Trump. If we can get a black woman with progressive policies in place, that would be fantastic. I'm sure whoever we get (again, except maybe for Warren but I doubt she wants it) they'll have done evil and vicious things to get where they are. Short of a revolution (and probably not even then) that's unlikely ever to change.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 11:45 AM on May 21, 2018 [1 favorite]


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