Florida attorney is submitting clemency
request for Corvain Cooper
Orlando,
FL (June 2018) Halscott Megaro PA has announced that Patrick Megaro of the firm Halscott Megaro, P.A. is asking President Donald J. Trump to
stop the madness of mandatory life sentences for non-violent drug offenders,
and commute Corvain Cooper's sentence.
Back on June 18, 2014, Corvain T. Cooper was convicted in the United
States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in Charlotte
for the crime of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to
distribute marijuana. Mr. Cooper was convicted of a non-violent crime and
sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Mr.
Cooper tried appealing his conviction and sentence, stating that the sentence
of life for non-violent crimes was against his Eighth Amendment (Amendment VIII) of the United States
Constitution which prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail,
excessive fines, or cruel and unusual
punishments. However, the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the case, and the
Supreme Court declined to even hear the case.
Once
the courts upheld the lower courts decisions, the attention turned to the State
of California who had passed Proposition 47 and 64 as part of legislative drug
law reforms after the state legalized marijuana. Both Propositions favored
individuals, such as, Corvain Cooper. Mr. Cooper applied to the courts asking
them to replace his drug felony convictions with misdemeanors.
A
petition was filed to pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2255 in the Federal court,
challenging his life sentence under the "Three Strikes" law - since
two of the three strikes were no longer felonies, but misdemeanors. However,
the Federal courts have denied the challenge and Mr. Coopers case is once again
before the United States Supreme Court.
Back in 2016 an application for clemency was present to then President
Barack Obama, asking the President to commute the sentence from
life-imprisonment to a non-violent drug offense. However, the President denied the chance for
clemency.
“I believe in God, the Constitution, individual freedom
and personal liberty. This is why I have been fighting for Corvain
Cooper and his rights since 2014, and I will
continue to do so until we have exhausted all options”, Patrick Megaro stated. Mr. Megaro also added “Because
his family has been unable to afford legal fees, I have been representing him
for free - pro bono. I have pledged to
continue to fight for this young man, who is a genuinely good person who does
not deserve this Draconian punishment.”
We
are asking President Donald J. Trump to stop the madness of mandatory life
sentences for non-violent drug offenders, and commute Corvain Cooper's sentence
to a non-violent drug sentence. Mr.
Cooper deserves to be treated and sentenced based on the crime, not for
political gains.
Background
The
underlying court cases are United
States v. Cooper, 624 Fed.Appx. 819 (4th Cir. 2015), and United States v.
Cooper, 714 Fed.Appx. 259 (4th Cir. 2018). According to a press release of the
U.S. Attorney’s Office, “from
in or about 2004 through January 2013, Cooper was involved in a drug conspiracy
that trafficked marijuana from California to the Charlotte area. Court records
show that Cooper was charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with
intent to distribute at least one thousand kilograms of marijuana as well as
money laundering conspiracy and structuring financial transactions through
banking institutions to avoid IRS reporting requirements. Cooper, along with
two co-defendants, Evelyn LaChapelle and Natalia Wade, were convicted of all
charges on October 18, 2013, following a three-day trial.” He was sentenced to
life in prison on June 18, 2014. See
https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdnc/pr/california-drug-trafficker-sentenced-life-prison-drug-conspiracy-and-related-charges
For
more information, contact:
Patrick
Michael Megaro, Esq.
Halscott
Megaro, P.A.
1300
North Semoran Boulevard, Suite 195
Orlando,
FL 32807 USA
Phone:
(407) 255-2164
pmegaro@halscottmegaro.com
