Consider Supporting the Petition Asking Mike Pence to Pardon Keith Cooper

Back in January, I posted an entry about Kristine Guerra‘s “Stolen Freedom,” a series of stories that examined “the issue of wrongful imprisonment and shares the stories of people who have suffered this injustice.” The first entry in that series was about the case of Keith Cooper. You can read Guerra‘s article for the full story, but the basics are laid out in a change.org petition:

In 1997, Keith Cooper was wrongly accused and convicted of a crime he did not commit. He was sentenced to 40 years for a horrible robbery, but it later became apparent a miscarriage of justice had occurred. A jailhouse informant against Cooper recanted his testimony and a DNA test on a hat recovered at the scene of the crime matched a different man serving time for a 2002 murder. Even the robbery victims, pushed by an investigator to identify Cooper, have said that they misidentified him.

In 2006, as the case against Cooper began to fall apart, he was offered a deal to get out of prison. He could be retried, waiting for his trial while still in prison, or he could be released with time served, though with his conviction still on his record. Having heard that his family was living in a homeless shelter, Cooper took the deal. He has been released from prison.

Understandably, given these facts, 

Both the Indiana Parole Board and the prosecutor of the case against him have recommended a full pardon for Keith Cooper. A full pardon is the only way to right this wrong.

The change.org petition closes by noting that

Indiana Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence has had a request for Cooper’s pardon since March 2014. Please tell him to grant the pardon now.

Right now, the change.org petition asking Mike Pence to pardon Keith Cooper has 97,285 supporters out of 150,000 needed to reach the goal. So, if you have the time, look at the case and support the petition if you agree that Cooper deserves a pardon. If you’re so inclined, tell your friend to take a look. Send an e-mail or letter to Pence. At some point, he will need to respond.

-CM