Da: "coalit"
Oggetto: [listacoalit] Fw: Kevin Cooper - DR San Quentin
Data: luned́ 15 ottobre 2001 15.41
> > MISCONDUCT IN DEATH ROW PRISONER'S CASE:
> >
> > More Police Misconduct In Kevin Cooper Case:
> > By: Paul McKim
> >
> > In the struggle to prove his innocence, death-row inmate Kevin Cooper
has
> > always had to contend with police corruption. Although he won the right
> to
> > DNA testing last December, his defense team recently made a shocking
> > discovery: key evidence just about to undergo testing may have been
> tampered
> > with. The results of the DNA tests could determine whether Cooper lives
> or
> > dies.
> >
> > Kevin Cooper is currently serving the 16th year of a death sentence at
> San
> > Quentin State Prison in California. In 1985 he was convicted of
murdering
> a
> > southern California family in their home, a crime which much evidence
> > indicates he didn't commit. The only eyewitness, for example,
repeatedly
> > told police that Cooper was not the killer. (For further details about
> the
> > case and evidence of Cooper's innocence see Socialist Action February
> 2001.)
> >
> > His conviction was due in large part to the deliberate steps taken by
> > authorities to target Cooper. For example, police consciously choose
not
> to
> > investigate another man who was likely involved with the murders, and
> > destroyed a pair of bloody coveralls that could have linked him to the
> > crime.
> >
> > On the other hand, police went out of their way to "find" evidence
> > implicating Cooper, which often turned up under suspicious
circumstances.
> > A bloody shoeprint on a bed sheet that matched a pair of shoes worn by
> > Cooper was central to his conviction. It was not found until over a
week
> after the
> > murders, when Cooper was already the only suspect, and not at the scene
> of
> > the murders, but in the crime lab. A pair of shoes identical to
Cooper's
> was
> > also in the lab at the time. When his attorneys went back to the
evidence
> > locker years later to search for DNA evidence, they discovered that the
> > print had been cut out of the sheet. Authorities in charge of the
> evidence
> > could not explain this.
> >
> > William Baird, the officer who found the shoeprint and other evidence
> > placing Cooper at the crime scene, has a well-established record of
> > corruption. By his own admission he was using narcotics at the time of
> > Cooper's trial, and he was fired shortly afterwards for stealing heroin
> > from the evidence locker both for personal use and to sell to drug
> dealers.
> >
> > Dan Gregonis, a criminalist from the San Bernardino Sheriff's
Department,
> > analyzed a drop of blood found on a wall near the room where the
victims
> > were killed. He said the blood came from an African-American and linked
> it
> > to Cooper. But on the stand at the trial, Gregonis admitted that after
he
> > received a sample of Cooper's blood, he changed one test result to make
> > itmatch Cooper's.
> >
> > With these and other incidents of misconduct in its record, the state
> > fought long and hard to prevent DNA testing that could exonerate
Cooper.
> > Proof of his innocence could draw attention to this shameful police
> record
> > and further expose the inherently flawed nature of the death penalty.
The
> > state capitulated in December only because of growing public pressure
and
> a
> > new law granting testing to death row inmates.
> >
> > But in May, the issue of police misconduct once again reared its ugly
> head.
> > Records from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department, where some of the
> DNA
> > evidence was stored, show that in 1999 the evidence was checked out
> > overnight by Gregonis, the same criminalist who admitted to changing
> > Cooper's test results during his trial. He still works in the
Scientific
> > Identification Division (SID) where the evidence is kept.
> >
> > Among other items, inventory records indicate that the evidence in his
> > possession included the very blood drop that Gregonis tested for the
> trial
> > and claimed was Cooper's, along with an actual sample of Cooper's
blood.
> > The evidence also contained a cigarette butt scheduled to undergo
testing
> > and a swab of Cooper's saliva. The saliva could easily have been
> transferred
> > onto the cigarette.
> >
> > Interestingly, it was the prosecution, which has always opposed any
> > testing, that suggested that this cigarette be included in the items to
> be
> > tested. Although we cannot know for sure what occurred, the planting of
> > Cooper's saliva would not be out of line with the previous actions of
> > police investigators.
> >
> > The legal team is outraged that Gregonis would be allowed any access to
> > this evidence, which is of life and death importance for Cooper,
> > considering his previous role in Cooper's frame-up and the implications
> for
> > his career if Cooper is exonerated. "I cannot think of a legitimate
> reason
> > for him to have had the evidence released to him," stated Cooper's lead
> > attorney Robert Amidon in a letter to state officials. "As you might
> > suspect, we are most suspicious of these events." The defense has
> prepared
> > a motion for an evidentiary hearing on this matter, which it intends to
> file
> > in the coming months.
> >
> > The state has been hard pressed to come up with a legitimate
explanation
> > for Gregonis's actions. In a May 21 letter to Amidon, San Bernardino
> > Supervising Deputy District Attorney John Kochis stated, "He [Gregonis]
> > informed me that the activity.was the result of my request in August of
> > 1999 to determine if certain items were still in possession of the
> > Sheriff's Department." This explanation is questionable considering
that
> > the existence and location of all evidence in possession of the
Sheriff's
> > Department is recorded in the written inventory. Furthermore, the claim
> that
> > Gregonis simply wanted to see what was there does not explain the fact
> that
> > he kept the materials for over 24 hours.
> >
> > Gregonis himself hasn't offered any explanation for his actions, except
> > through Kochis. On May 31 he told journalist Leslie Kean that he had
been
> > "ordered not say anything about that" by his superiors. Melody Morino,
> the
> > SID officer who signed the evidence back in when Gregonis returned it,
> also
> > refused to respond to questions from Kean.
> >
> > Cooper believes that it is likely that tampering occurred, considering
> the
> > lengths to which the state has already gone to seek his execution.
"These
> > people are intent on murdering me," he told me during a recent visit to
> San
> > Quentin. "To them, the end justifies the means."
> >
> > Cooper said he wasn't surprised by the news that tampering may have
> > occurred. "This kind of thing happens all the time in this so-called
> > criminal justice system," he explained.
> >
> > In late June Cooper's attorneys discovered another possible incident of
> > tampering when they went to the San Bernardino Sheriff's department to
> > retrieve the DNA evidence for testing. To their surprise, it had
already
> > been removed from storage before their arrival. According to defense
> > attorney William McGuigan, "When we went to get it a guy from the
> original
> > investigation of Mr. Cooper's case had collected all of the evidence
and
> put
> > it into a little paper bag. It certainly was an amazing performance,"
he
> > said.
> >
> > This was a flagrant violation of an agreement reached between the
defense
> > and the state of California in June. "We had structured the agreement
> very
> > carefully to try to avoid anything like this from happening," McGuigan
> > stated. The agreement specified detailed procedures for removing,
> > photographing, and packaging the evidence with both parties present.
This
> > violation, by someone with past connections to the prosecution, raises
> > serious questions about what other misconduct may have occurred.
> >
> > The evidence was shipped to the Department of Justice DNA Laboratory in
> > Berkeley, California, where the tests will be performed over the next
two
> to
> > three months. Many pieces of evidence will undergo testing, but it only
> > takes one with Cooper's DNA planted on it to send him to his death. Dr.
> > Edward Blake, head of the testing team, will be scrutinizing the
evidence
> > for any signs of tampering.
> >
> > The many corrupt practices employed by the state to execute Cooper
should
> > serve as a vivid reminder of whose interests this "justice system"
really
> > serves. If the state is given the power to kill in this racist, class
> > society, it will always mean injustice for the poor and exploited.
> > "Situations like the one I'm in are the reasons why we can't have the
> death
> > penalty," says Cooper. "They show that you can't trust the politicians,
> > prosecutors, and the state to be honest."
> >
> > (Published in Socialist Action Newspaper, July, 2001.)
> >
> > Kevin Cooper C65304
> > San Quentin State Prison
> > San Quentin, California 94974. USA.
> >
> > He is articulate and personable, within the strictures imposed by
> confinement
> > and limited personal resources, has been unconditionally cooperative in
> > having disseminated to as wide an audience as possible information
about
> his
> > case. One of those individuals who is widely accepted as factually
> > innocent, Mr. Cooper's utilization of DNA also represents the first
> instance
> > in California death row history in which opportunities offered by a
> science
> > not available at the time of his trial can be mobilized in pursuit of
> exculpation.
> > The article above suggests that precisely because Mr. Cooper's
innocence
> > may be illuminated by the yields of uncontaminated DNA analyses,
> > a prosecutorial mentality focussed on winning at any and all costs may
be
> > catalyzing behaviours designed to contaminat evidence before it can be
> > objectively evaluated.
> >
> > For additonal information, please feel free to peruse:
> >
> > http://www.nodeathpenalty.org/factsheets/kevinCooper.html
> > http://www.cuadp.org/people/Cooper,_Kevin_C.html
> > to write directly to Mr. Cooper.
> >
> > Mr. Cooper welcomes inquiries and celebrates support.
from ACADP