Sneak peek: The Troubling Case Against Kevin Cooper | Forensic Files

[Music] you've been with us for the two decades that we've investigated the case
of kevin cooper the california death row inmate who has always professed his innocence tonight
there are new developments that may help cooper in his bid for freedom our investigation began with letters
from san quentin prison outside san francisco i'm kelly cooper i'm on death row he claimed he had been framed for the
murder of four people it was a terrible home invasion in chino hills california one night in 1983 a family of four
with a young boy who was overnight guest authorities say more than one weapon was
used in the brutal murders four of them died one survived even though his throat had been cut
did you have some injuries yeah my throat was slashed got stabbed here hit by an axe here screwdriver punctured my
back my lung broke three ribs authorities then arrested and sentenced to death a young black man named kevin cooper for
the crime this occurred in a upper middle class neighborhood horse country finding somebody to pin it on was very
important and kevin cooper was a convenient person dependent on the problem was they didn't have the
evidence there is enormous amount of evidence that suggests three or four white perpetrators
tom parker i'm a retired fbi agent i was brought into this case at the request of the lead attorney the
more i dug into it i began to realize that there was something seriously wrong with the case you
believe that evidence was planted and tampered with i don't believe that i know that
they find me it's very hard for the system to try to correct a mistake i think they got the wrong guy but the
state says it's case closed i am 100 percent certain kevin cooper committed these
murders the only thing that keeps me going is the fact that i know i'm innocent he's got a lot of people pulling for him
not only within the prison outside [Music] we've been trying to get this evidence
tested over the last 15 years i've been working in the case and we've always been refused
in 2018 kevin cooper got his wish california's governor ordered new dna tests but what do they reveal about cooper's
case i was worried that there wouldn't be a lot of good data that could be obtained
we've had the dna testing we do have a profile it's certainly not kevin

A man on death row says his blood was planted at the crime scene. Will an empty vial help his case? "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports Saturday, July 24 at 9/8c on CBS.

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--- "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. For 27 seasons, "48 Hours" has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives. Check local listings for "48 Hours" broadcast times.

Brief Summary

Kevin Cooper maintains his innocence in a 1983 murder case, with new DNA evidence challenging his conviction.

Key points

Kevin Cooper's Innocence Claim. Kevin Cooper, a death row inmate, has always maintained his innocence in a brutal murder case.
New DNA Tests Ordered. California's governor ordered new DNA tests in Cooper's case after years of refusal.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

The only thing that keeps me going is the fact that I know I'm innocent.

Kevin Cooper's determination despite his situation.

2:19WatchJul 22, 2021

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