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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Robbery (includes armed robbery) |
Sentence: |
40 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
10 |
Year Crime: |
1996 |
Year Convicted: |
1997 |
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Indiana |
County or Region of Crime: |
Elkhart |
City of Crime: |
Elkhart |
Result: |
Pardoned |
Summary of Case: |
"Keith Donnell Cooper was co-defendant of Christopher Parish. Both men were wrongly convicted in 1998 charges related to a robbery involving a shooting in an apartment in Elkhart, Indiana on October 29, 1996. Christopher Parish's alibi for his whereabouts at the time of the alleged cirme was he was 110 miles away with his family in Chicago, Illinois. Before trial the prosecution offered Parish a plea deal of one year in prison that he turned down proclaiming his innocence. After his conviction by a jury Parish was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The prosecution failed to disclose that DNA tests of a hat worn by the shooter did not match Keith Cooper or Parish. On December 6, 2005 the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned Parish's conviction and ordered a new trial based on ineffective assistance of his trial counsel for failing to investigate that no robbery or shooting occurred in the apartment -- but that the alleged victim concocted the story to cover-up that he was actually shot in the parking lot while he was on home detention for a gun related conviction. Parish was released on bail after 9-1/2 years in custody. The Elkhart County District Attorney declined to retry Parish, and filed a motion to dismiss the charges that was granted in December 2006. Cooper filed a post-conviction petition based on the evidence Parish discovered that they had been convicted of a non-existent crime. Cooper was released on April 27, 2006 after agreeing to his immediate release on parole in exchange for dropping his petition for a new trial. Parish filed a federal civil rights lawsuit that named many defendants. On October 27, 2010, a federal jury awarded Parish $73,125 in compensation from the City of Elkhart, and $5,000 in punitive damages from retired Elkhart Police Detective Steve Rezutko. The total award to Parish was $78,125, plus an award of $191,000 in attorney’s fees and costs. Parish appealed the award, and in December 2012 the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals remanded for a new trial limited to assessing damages. In November 2014 Parish and the two defendants settled his suit for $4.9 million. Cooper's application for a pardon was scheduled to be heard by the Indiana Parole Board during its February 2014 public hearing. The shooting victim, Michael Kershner, publicly acknowledges he erroneously identified Parish and Cooper, and supports Cooper's petition for a full pardon. Kershner said in a statement that he wants the parole board and Gov. Mitch Daniels to grant Keith Cooper's pardon application: "It would be a blessing from God for an innocent man to get off, and I am so sorry for falsely accusing you. I swear to God I really thought you were the one. Please forgive me and God forgive me. I was wrong." (Man asks for pardon after name is cleared, By staff writer, The Elkhart Truth, March 29, 2009) In September 2016 Indiana Governor Mike Pence declined to pardon Cooper on the basis he had failed to exhaust his judicial options to have his conviction overturned. Cooper subsequently filed a post-conviction petition to reverse his conviction and for a new trial. While Cooper's post-conviction was pending, on February 9, 2017 Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb issued a pardon for Keith Cooper. (Note: The Indiana Supreme Court has held a pardon effectively "blots out of existence the guilt." (Kelley v. State, 185 N.E. 453, 458-59 (Ind. 1933)) Based on the Supreme Court’s holding in Kelley, the Indiana Court of Appeals found a pardon provides automatic grounds for judicial expungement. (State v. Bergman, 558 N.E.2d 1111 (Ind. Ct. App. 1990)) On Nov. 6, 2017 Cooper filed a federal civil rights lawsuit that named as defendants the City of Elkhart and the city's current police chief Ed Windbigler." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Perjury by the prosecution's key witness. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"While Cooper's post-conviction was pending to reverse his conviction and for a new trial, on February 9, 2017 Indiana Governor issued a pardon for Keith Cooper." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
Yes |
Age When Imprisoned: |
29 |
Age When Released: |
39 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Phantom Robbery And Fake Crime Scene Leads To 30-Year Prison Sentence — The Christopher Parish Story, By Christopher Parish, Justice Denied, Issue 30, Fall 2005, p. 7" |
Information Location 1: |
http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_30/christopher_parish_jd_issue_30.pdf |
Information Source 2: |
"Parish v. State, no. 20a03-0502-pc-74 (Ind.App. 12-6-2005)" |
Information Location 2: |
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Information Source 3: |
"Parish v. City of Elkhart, Indiana, et al., No. 11-1669 (7th Cir. 12-20-2012)" |
Information Location 3: |
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-7th-circuit/1619012.html |
Information Source 4: |
"Man asks for pardon after name is cleared, By Staff writer, The Elkhart Truth, March 29, 2009" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.elkharttruth.com/news/2009/03/29/Man-asks-for-pardon-after-name-is-cleared.html |
Information Source 5: |
"Gov. Holcomb pardons Keith Cooper, By Fatima Hussein , Chelsea Schneider and Madeline Buckley (Staff writers), Indianapolis Star, February 9, 2017" |
Information Location 5: |
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2017/02/09/gov-holcomb-pardons-keith-cooper/97692148/ |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org