More than 70,000 people have signed Petition asking for the release of
Corvain Cooper, sentenced to life for marijuana offenses
Petition for
review pending before U.S. Supreme Court, questions fairness of mandatory life
sentences for non-violent marijuana offenders
More than 70,000 people (as of October 8, 2018) have signed
a petition requesting that Corvain Cooper be released from prison. He has been
sentenced to life in prison for non-violent marijuana offenses under the “Three
Strikes” law.
Currently, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to
hear Cooper’s appeal (the procedure is called “grant a writ of certiorari”).
The petition was filed by his attorney Patrick M. Megaro, who is doing all the
work pro bono (as service to the
community). The procedure before the Court is that the petition is being
distributed and reviewed among the Supreme Court Justices. Each of the Justices of the Supreme Court
receives a copy of the petition. The Justices will then decide whether to grant
the petition and agree to hear the appeal, or not.
Many people support Corvain Cooper. His lawyer Patrick
Megaro created a petition that over 70,000 people have signed. See https://www.change.org/p/donald-trump-release-corvain-cooper-from-life-imprisonment-without-parole-for-marijuana
Attorney Megaro has
simultaneously petitioned President Donald Trump for executive clemency and
commutation of his sentence of life imprisonment without parole.
Megaro
explains: “This is a particular disturbing case, and I felt compelled to help
Cooper and his family. He has two little daughters who miss him dearly. This
case has broader implications, it is estimated that there are about 2,000
people … men and women, fathers and mothers, in prison for life for non-violent
drug offenses, oftentimes involving very small amounts of such substances. This
punishment does not fit the crime. Marijuana is now legalized, decriminalized,
or approved for medicinal use in one form or another in the majority of States.
Fundamental fairness is at the heart of this case.”
The background is as follows. Corvain Cooper
was charged in the United States District Court for the Western District of
North Carolina with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to
distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana, and conspiracy to commit money
laundering and structuring transactions.
A special information was also filed against Cooper, alleging two prior
felony convictions for possession of drugs (one for marijuana, one for codeine
cough syrup) in the California state courts. The filing triggered a mandatory
life sentence without parole. The reason
for the unusually harsh sentence is the so-called “Three Strikes” law. These laws require a person guilty
of committing a drug felony and two other previous drug felony
convictions to serve a mandatory life sentence in prison. The
“Three Strikes” law significantly
increases the prison sentences of persons convicted of a felony who have been
previously convicted of two or more violent crimes or drug felonies, and limits
the ability of these offenders to receive a punishment other than a life sentence.
Cooper tried
appealing his conviction and sentence, arguing 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. The United
States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the case.
The State of California enacted Proposition
47 in 2014, which re-categorized several non-violent offenses as misdemeanors.
Prior to enacting Proposition 47, possession of marijuana was considered a
felony. This also allowed people who had prior felony convictions under the old
statute to vacate them.
Proposition 64 (the Adult Use of Marijuana
Act) was enacted on November 9, 2016, by the State of California which
legalized the use of recreational marijuana. This Act permitted certain people
who had been convicted of marijuana felony offenses to apply to vacate those
convictions and reclassify them as misdemeanors.
“I have
been representing Mr. Cooper and I have said from day one that I am in this
fight to help Corvain Cooper no matter how long it takes,” comments his attorney
Patrick Megaro.
About the Corvain
Cooper Case
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
A link to the online Supreme
Court docket can be found at
The petition is at https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/18/18-5222/52544/20180706170004149_Petition%20for%20Writ%20of%20Certiorari%20and%20Appendix%20FINAL%20PDFA.pdf
Join the other supporters of Corvain Cooper who have signed
the petition at:
**** Patrick Michael Megaro is a partner at Halscott Megaro PA. His primary areas of practice are criminal defense, criminal appeals, post-conviction relief, civil appeals, and civil rights litigation. See https://themegarocriminallawlibrary.com/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patrickmichael.megaro.9 - Attorney Profile: https://criminal-defense-attorney.squarespace.com/patrick-michael-megaro-esq/ - Attorney Profile at: https://solomonlawguild.com/patrick-michael-megaro; Attorney News at: https://attorneygazette.com/patrick-megaro%2C-esq#ab17a387-a757-4c0f-bc37-81f556fd15ea
