There is a new addition to the growing list of Heartless acts of Mike Pence, the Indiana governor has now denied a pardon for a man wrongly convicted and now proven innocent!
Sarah Burris of Raw Story reports the sad history of Keith Cooper, who served 10 years of a 40-year sentence after being misidentified. In 2008 shooting victim Michael Kershner and his mother, Nona Canell filmed statements and admitted they were wrong. This came after new DNA evidence was found and a jail informant admitted he lied. Canell asked investigators multiple times to see a lineup of potential suspects because she couldn’t be sure. An Elkhart Police detective promised her that they had “the right guy.” It looks like they were wrong!
When the new evidence surfaced, the judge offered Cooper a deal if he agreed to be resentenced for the crime. By accepting the deal he was granted “time served” for the 10 years of wrongful imprisonment, but still isn’t considered innocent by the court.
Burris said Cooper filed a pardon request to the parole board and they unanimously voted that he should be pardoned and have his felony charges taken off of his criminal record. If Pence granted him clemency, he would be the first person ever in the state’s history to obtain it.
Even though Cooper was proven innocent, Pence proves that he cares more about how the judicial process appears than how it actually works.
Pence REFUSED to pardon the innocent man, saying it needs to stand “out of respect for the judicial process.” This comes after a two-year delay where Pence claimed that Cooper’s paperwork wasn’t in order.
“I’m tired of people judging me by that conviction. That [Department of Correction] number. That’s not who I am,” Cooper said in August. “Man, I know that better than my own Social Security number.”
Pence’s irrational decision was slammed by the South Bend Tribune saying it “defies reason.”
“An innocent man who has had a decade of his life stolen from him by a flawed process shouldn’t be advised to sit tight and wait a bit longer for the system to finally get it right,” the editorial says. “Every one of us should feel the sting of such injustice. Nothing can erase all that Keith Cooper has endured, but the next step couldn’t be clearer. Governor Pence, issue this pardon.”
Cooper’s attorneys believe Pence is trying to push the decision off on another governor since he will be replaced in January.
“We are really disappointed in Governor Pence’s failure to provide justice to an innocent man. It’s clear that he has punted the petition to the next Governor because it’s election season,” Cooper’s attorney Elliot Slosar said.
Pence’s office said in a statement it has not made a final decision.
Why would the Governor REFUSE to pardon a man that has been proven innocent and spent 10 years in jail? If you want JUSTICE for an innocent man, Please use your preferred contact method and give your feedback on Pence refusing to pardon an innocent man: 317-232-4567, Office of the Governor Statehouse Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2797, or you can email.
