District attorney posts harsh response to ABA president’s support for Kevin Cooper clemency
By Doug Saunders
The San Bernardino Sun
San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos posted a harsh response on social media to the American Bar Association president who supports clemency for Chino Hills convicted killer Kevin Cooper.
“I am disgusted by the comments made by the president of the American Bar Association and the fact that they show no concern or respect for the victims and their families in this case,” Ramos posted on his professional Facebook page Wednesday. “Kevin Cooper committed the most horrendous crimes imaginable against the victims while they were in the sanctity of their home.”
In a letter sent to Gov. Brown on Monday, ABA president Paulette Brown cast “considerable doubt” that Cooper received due process and constitutional guarantees in his arrest, prosecution and conviction.
Cooper was found guilty of the June 1983 murders of Doug and Peggy Ryen, along with their daughter Jessica, 10, and 11-year-old Chris Hughes — a neighbor visiting the family. The Ryen’s youngest child, Joshua, 8, survived the attack.
“He killed a family and two little children, and left their family members to suffer a lifetime of pain,” Ramos posted. “The American Bar Association has no business commenting on a case in San Bernardino County and calling into question the integrity of this office.”
Paulette Brown’s letter says substantiated evidence of bias and misconduct by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office point to the possible miscarriage of justice and lack of due process as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and according to bar association policies.
Ramos says just the opposite.
“This is their last-ditch effort at saving the life of a multiple murderer and apparently they didn’t bother to do their homework,” Ramos said by phone Thursday.
Ramos said the “evidence” the ABA president says was found has been previously looked over by the higher courts which determined Cooper’s conviction would stand.
“Kevin Cooper is the perfect example of how dysfunctional the appellate process is and how it is being abused by those on death row in California,” Ramos stated. “He has appealed multiple times to each the California Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, and each time our case gets stronger.”
During a 2005 hearing as part of the appeals process, U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Huff said she believed there was overwhelming proof Cooper is responsible for the quadruple murder.
Cooper’s claims came to the American Bar Association’s attention because they “implicate a variety of our policies designed to ensure that, (in death-penalty cases), we first have confidence that the process has been fair and all compelling claims have been subject to meaningful review,” the ABA president wrote.
Brown said in her statement that since Cooper’s arrest and conviction more than 30 years ago, evidence has emerged casting doubt on his conviction and that has never been comprehensively examined by any court.
Ramos says he’ll continue to fight for the rights of victims.
“Let me be clear that this office will continue fighting for the families who lost their loved ones at the hands of California’s most violent criminals,” Ramos added. “For them, the pain never ends.”
http://www.dailybulletin.com/general...ooper-clemency
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