FreeCorvainCooper
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882) American Essayist & Poet
This page is dedicated to the 5-year fight for Corvain Cooper’s freedom.
Please join our cause by signing and sharing our petition to President Donald J. Trump by clicking on this link:
Release Corvain Cooper from Life Imprisonment Without Parole for Marijuana
Release Corvain Cooper from Life Imprisonment Without Parole for Marijuana
Timeline of Events
- 10/18/2011 — Indictment filed in Docket # 3:11-CR-337 in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, charging nine defendants with drug conspiracy and related offenses
- 1/15/2013 — First Superseding Indictment filed in Docket # 3:11-CR-337 charging Corvain Cooper and others in the same conspiracy
- 1/28/2013 — Corvain Cooper arrested in California.
- 3/15/2013 — United States files a Special Information pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 851, triggering the Federal “Three Strikes” law in Docket # 3:11-CR-337 based upon Corvain Cooper’s two prior California state felony convictions:
- 1. felony conviction for possession of codeine cough syrup without a prescription in Case # INGYA08050901 in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Inglewood
- 2. felony conviction for possession of marijuana prior to legalization in Case # SA07215401 in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Beverly Hills
- 8/12/2013 — Former Attorney General Eric Holder announces new Department of Justice Policy regarding reduced sentencing of non-violent drug offenders – read the memo HERE:
https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/oip/legacy/2014/07/23/ag-memo-department-policypon-charging-mandatory-minimum-sentences-recidivist-enhancements-in-certain-drugcases.pdf - 10/15/2013 — 10/18/2013 — trial held in Docket # 3:11-CR-337, Corvain Cooper and two co-defendants Evelyn Chantell LaChappelle and Natalia Christina Wade found guilty, case continued for sentencing.
- 4/23/2014 — Former President Barack Obama and the Office of the Pardon Attorney announces new clemency initiative to encourage non-violent drug offenders to apply for clemency
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/announcing-new-clemency-initiative-deputy-attorney-general-james-m-cole-details-broad-new - 6/18/2014 — Corvain Cooper sentenced to life without parole filed in Docket # 3:11- CR-337 in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Read the sentencing transcripts HERE: Transcripts of Sentencing 6-18-2014
- 11/4/2014 – California votes approve Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, a law that changed certain low-level crimes from potential felonies to misdemeanors and permitted people with felony convictions to have those convictions erased from their criminal records.
- 5/18/2015 – Clemency petition submitted to President Barack Obama on behalf of Corvain Cooper, Patrick Michael Megaro later files Letter to President Barack H. Obama dated 4-5-2016 in support of the clemency petition.
- 10/2/2015 — United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issues Decision Affirming Conviction and Sentence by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals dated 10-2-2015 in Docket # 14-4586, finding that a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for marijuana does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on Cruel and Unusual Punishments.
- 10/15/2015 – Motion for Rehearing En Banc filed 10-15-2015 by Patrick Michael Megaro in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Docket # 14-4586, asking the entire court to reconsider whether a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for marijuana violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on Cruel and Unusual Punishments
- 11/10/2015 – The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issues Order Denying En Banc Review dated 11-10-2015
- 2/18/2016 – Patrick Michael Megaro files First Petition for Writ of Certiorari Filed in the United States Supreme Court on 2-18-2015 asking the Supreme Court to consider whether a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for marijuana violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on Cruel and Unusual Punishments
- 3/28/2016 — United States Supreme Court denies petition for certiorari on 3-28-2016 in Docket # 15-1056, refusing to consider Corvain Cooper’s appeal
- 6/22/2016 – Corvain Cooper successfully applies under Proposition 47 to have one of his prior felony convictions vacated and reduced to a misdemeanor, the California Superior Court (Inglewood), Los Angeles County issues Order Vacating Felony Conviction Pursuant to Proposition 47 in Case # YA080509
- 9/30/2016 — President Barack Obama denies clemency for Corvain Cooper, leaving his sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for marijuana intact
- 11/8/2016 – California votes approve Proposition 64, the California Marijuana Legalization Initiative, which legalized marijuana in California and permitted people with prior felony convictions for marijuana offenses to apply to have those felony convictions erased from their records and replaced with misdemeanors.
- 11/10/2016 — Corvain Cooper files motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to vacate his conviction and sentence in Docket # 3:16-CV-00781, in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. In that motion, he argues that he cannot be subject to the Federal “Three Strikes Law” because one of the prior convictions has been vacated.
- 5/24/2017 – The California Superior Court (Beverly Hills), Los Angeles County issues Order Vacating Felony Conviction Pursuant to Proposition 64 in Case # SA072154. Corvain Cooper’s second prior felony conviction is erased and replaced with a misdemeanor.
- 6/8/2017 — Patrick Michael Megaro files Motion to Supplement 2255 Petition in Docket # 3:16-CV-00781, in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, presenting evidence to the Federal court that the second prior felony conviction (“Strike Two”) has been erased from Corvain Cooper’s record, and again asks that the sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole be thrown out.
- 10/2/2017 — The United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina issues an Order Dismissing 2255 Petition refusing to reconsider Corvain Cooper’s life sentence in Docket # 3:16-CV-00781.
- 11/22/2017 – Patrick Michael Megaro files an Informal Brief for Motion for Certificate of Appealability in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Docket # 17-7359, asking the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to hear Corvain Cooper’s appeal of the denial of his request to have his life sentence reconsidered.
- 3/8/2018 — The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issues an Order Denying Appeal of the 2255 Petition, refusing to hear Corvain Cooper’s appeal and reconsider his sentence in Docket # 17-7359
- 7/3/2018 – Patrick Michael Megaro files a second petition for executive clemency to President Donald J. Trump on Corvain Cooper’s behalf, asking President Trump to commute the sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
- Read Patrick Michael Megaro’s personal letter to President Trump HERE: Letter in Support of Clemency Petition 7-3-2018
- 10/15/2018 – The United States Supreme Court issues an Order Denying Second Petition for Certiorari
- Corvain Cooper’s appeals in the United States Courts are now fully exhausted, leaving his only option for freedom in the hands of President Donald J. Trump.
PLEASE HELP US SEND THIS MAN HOME
TO HIS MOM AND TWO BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GIRLS ONE DAY
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