Clear & Convincing - California v. Kevin Cooper - Part 2 (2001 - present)

On February 19, 1985, after a trial that lasted five months, Kevin Cooper was convicted of the June 4, 1983 murders of Doug and Peggy Ryen, their daughter Jessica and family friend, Christopher Hughes. Cooper was also convicted of the attempted murder of the Ryen’s 8-year old son, Josh, who was the sole survivor of the brutal attack. On March 1, 1985, the jury recommended that Cooper be sentenced to death and, on May 15, 1985, after denying post-trial motions filed by Cooper, the judge sentenced Cooper to death. Through his direct appeal and numerous post-conviction claims made in state and federal courts, Cooper has alleged that authorities manipulated and tampered with evidence and that exculpatory evidence was withheld or destroyed. In May, 2001, the parties agreed to limited DNA testing of evidence Cooper's expert identified as crucial to the question of guilt, or innocence. When the DNA results did not exonerate him, Cooper and his attorneys claimed that authorities in San Bernardino County planted evidence to frame him. On the eve of his scheduled execution on February 10, 2004, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed Cooper’s execution to permit him to return to federal district court to develop his tampering claims and to perform additional testing. Join Lisa O’Brien and Michael Carnahan on Thursday, July 19, 2018, at 8:00 p.m. Central, for a discussion of Cooper’s post-conviction claims, the results of testing and the status of his case.