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"voted to deny (Cooper's) Petition for Rehearing and Petition for Rehearing En Banc. The full court was advised of the petition for rehearing en banc. A judge requested a vote (for it, yet the) matter failed to receive a majority of the votes, (therefore both petitions) are DENIED."
Eleven of the 27 judges dissented, some warning that "The State of California may be about to execute an innocent man."
Eight judges agreed on a dissenting opinion (identified only by their last names) - Fletcher, Wardlaw, Fisher, Reinhardt, Rymer, Pregerson, Paez, and Rawlinson.
After the US Supreme Court's denial, Cooper's execution is more likely, and threatens other innocent Black prisoners, the most famous being Mumia Abu-Jamal, falsely convicted in July 1982, thereafter on death row, and in April 2009 denied a new trial by the High Court despite prosecutorial discrimination in striking Blacks from his prospective juror panel to get enough Whites on it to convict.
Timeline of the Case
-- on June 4, 1983, Douglas and Peggy Ryen, their 10 year old daughter Jessica, and 11 year old house guest Christopher were murdered inside their Chino Hills, CA home;
-- on June 9, San Bernardino County prosecutors charged Cooper with four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder; a warrant was issued for his arrest, and his whereabouts was sought;
-- on June 30, Santa Barbara County sheriff's deputies arrested Cooper following a rape accusation, not proved and never charged;
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