This fits right in with Pence/Trump wanting to put people on a, no fly/no buy guns list, for no particular reason. And stop and frisk, take the gun just because they're "law enforcement" and can do no wrong. The facts don't matter to them.

They don't acknowledge "due process of law" or "innocent until proven guilty". Pence is a lawless tyrant thug, and Trump is a wannabe.

This fits right in with Pence/Trump wanting to put people on a, no fly/no buy guns list, for no particular reason. And stop and frisk, take the gun just because they're "law enforcement" and can do no wrong. The facts don't matter to them.

The authoritarian fascists who infest this site will be pleased by Pence's abominable decision, and you're right - a Trump presidency promises more of the same, a bigger police state.

Of course, Hillary is not any different.

I'm getting more disgusted every day by the cop-worshipers here.

Proven innocent? His retrial hasn't even been granted yet.

The left always opens with shrieking nonsense.

Proven innocent? His retrial hasn't even been granted yet.

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.

The left always opens with shrieking nonsense.

I'll list that among the most asinine posts of the week.

Some people, for some reason, retracted their testimony years later and this is proof he's innocent.

In 2008 shooting victim Michael Kershner and his mother, Nona Canell filmed statements and admitted they were wrong.

Let them testify to their altered account at the retrial. Maybe the jury will believe them. Maybe not.

Feelz is all they need.

"Let them testify to their altered account at the retrial. Maybe the jury will believe them. Maybe not."

"The Indiana Court of Appeals overturned his co-defendant’s conviction in 2005, and Cooper was given the choice of being released with a felony record or facing a new trial before the same judge who had convicted him. The Chicago Tribune reports he chose to be released."

He had his chance of a retrial. Apparently he thought a new jury would not believe him either.

So he chooses to be released (with a record) ... and now he wants to be pardoned!

Proven innocent? His retrial hasn't even been granted yet.

He turned down an opportunity for a second trial 10 years ago.

Even though Cooper was proven innocent, Pence proves that he cares more about how the judicial process appears than how it actually works.

...

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.

It is difficult to be considered innocent by a court where you stand convicted. He chose not to have a second trial. He made the decision not to try to prove his innocence in court. He made that decision and was released in 2006, seven years before Pence became governor. He just asked for a new trial a couple of days ago.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-keith-cooper-pardon-met-20150527-story.html

Sentenced to 40 years in prison for a 1996 robbery in a small Indiana community that ended in bloodshed, Cooper tried within the concrete walls of his cell to clear his name, as he watched his children grow up through photographs.

Then, in late 2005, an Indiana Court of Appeals overturned his co-defendant's conviction. And so Cooper was given a choice — be set free but still with a felony record or take his chances at a new trial before the same judge who convicted him. It'd be a gamble, but this time there was more conclusive DNA evidence that implicated another man as the shooter.

Cooper decided to play it safe. He chose to be a father. He chose to go home.

Now, another decade later, the Country Club Hills resident and Chicago native has petitioned Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to pardon him for a crime he insists he did not commit. His lawyer argues Cooper was wrongly imprisoned based on flawed police work, tainted witness identifications, an unreliable jailhouse snitch and a trial attorney who mishandled key DNA evidence. The witnesses and the snitch have recanted.

[...]

Attorneys for the city of Elkhart said the multimillion-dollar settlement with Parish was not an admission of liability. They noted Cooper declined a chance to prove his claim of innocence at a retrial.

"Because of his choice, he stands convicted of this crime," city attorney Vlado Vranjes said.

http://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2016/10/03/wrongfully-convicted-keith-cooper-asks-new-trial/91474238/

Wrongfully convicted Keith Cooper asks for new trial

Madeline Buckley
10:48 a.m. EDT October 4, 2016

Seven years after he began the process to seek a pardon, Keith Cooper, who spent a decade in prison for a crime he didn't commit, turned to the courts Monday after his pursuit of exoneration from Gov. Mike Pence stalled.

Cooper's attorney, Elliot Slosar, filed a petition that asks an Elkhart Circuit Court judge to grant Cooper a new trial — an attempt to fulfill Pence's request that Cooper exhaust his options in court before seeking a pardon from the governor's office.

[...]

But last month, Cooper faced another hurdle.

Pence's office sent a letter to Slosar on Sept. 20 that asked him to pursue exoneration through the courts first.

"Although the judicial system may not be perfect, given the extraordinary nature of Mr. Cooper's request, we need to be certain the judicial process is complete and has been given every opportunity to address any error that may have occurred."

Petitions for post-conviction relief are usually last-ditch efforts by convicts seeking to reduce a sentence or vacate a conviction. They are rarely granted.

Kara Brooks, a spokeswoman for Pence, said in a statement: “The governor’s office believes this a necessary and proper approach and will produce information the governor will need as he considers a pardon for Mr. Cooper.”