Kevin Cooper is guilty, again

And that's all she wrote on Substack

The American Bar Association is ignoring crucial evidence in the Kevin Cooper case, because there is nothing the left wants to believe more than that a repeat offender convicted of the 1983 murders of Chino Hills chiropractors Doug and Peggy Ryen, their daughter Jessica, 10, and house guest Christopher Hughes,11, was framed. (The family’s son, Josh Ryen, then 8, was left for dead, but somehow survived having his throat slashed.)

As the San Francisco Chronicle reported, ABA president Mary Smith wrote a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom that argued prosecutors “destroyed” physical evidence. She ignores reality. The case against Cooper was overwhelming, as a Special Counsel assigned by Newsom concluded. Cooper had means, motive and opportunity.

Other judicial reviews came to the same conclusion. After he escaped a nearby correctional institution, Cooper stayed at a vacant house with a view to the Ryen’s San Bernardino home, and he left behind physical evidence. As the California Supreme Court observed,

(T)he evidence of guilt was extremely strong. Many items of circumstantial evidence pointed to defendant's guilt. Some alone were quite compelling; others less so. In combination, the evidence established defendant's guilt overwhelmingly. First, there was the fact of defendant's escape and hiding out at the house nearest the crime scene at precisely the time of the crime. Defendant left the house the very night of the murders. The Ryen house could be seen from the Lease house. Since defendant's telephonic appeals for help had proved vain, he desperately needed a means to get out of the area, a means the Ryen station wagon could provide. The hatchet that was one of the murder weapons came from within the Lease house, near the window through which the Ryen house was visible. The sheath for this hatchet was found on the floor of the very room defendant slept in. Items that could have been the remaining murder weapons were missing from the Lease house.

And:

It is utterly unreasonable to suppose that by coincidence, some hypothetical real killer chose this night and this locale to kill; that he entered the Lease house just after defendant left to retrieve the murder weapons, leaving the hatchet sheath in the bedroom defendant used; that he returned to the Lease house to shower; that he drove the Ryen station wagon in the same direction defendant used on his way to Mexico; and that he happened to wear prison issue tennis shoes like those of defendant, happened to have defendant's blood type, happened to have hair like defendant's, happened to roll cigarettes with the same distinctive prison issue tobacco, and so forth. Defendant sought to discredit or minimize each of these items of evidence, but the sheer volume and consistency of the evidence is overwhelming.

Newsom and former Gov. Jerry Brown — two California Democrats who personally oppose the death penalty — agree that Cooper is guilty. Two professionals who worked on the defense told me they believe Cooper is guilty. Really, there is no question mark in this story. There are only lawyers who want to ignore the obvious.

Personal note:

This is my last substack post. On Jan. 2, I become Washington Columnist for my once and future home, the Las Vegas Review-Journal. I’ll be telling you the latest on the White House, 2024 campaigns, The Hill and how public policies affect the Silver State. I can’t think of a better time to have this beat.

You will be able to find my work at www.reviewjournal.com. Please take a peak and Happy New Year. Also, please feel free to share tips and thoughts at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com. Namaste.