The Troubling Case Against Kevin Cooper
6/4/202639 min
Kevin Cooper is currently incarcerated for the 1983 murder of Doug and Penny Ryen, their daughter Jessica, and friend Christopher Hughes. He has been on death row for over 40 years but maintains he is innocent and is still fighting for a new trial. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports. This classic "48 Hours" episode last aired on 7/24/2021.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsErin Moriarty· Host0:00
[suspenseful 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.
Kevin Cooper· Soundbite0:31
I'm Kevin Cooper. I'm on death row.
Erin Moriarty· Host0:34
He claimed he had been framed for the murder of four people.
Nicholas Kristof· Guest0:38
[suspenseful music] It was a terrible home invasion in Chino Hills, California one night in 1983. Family of four with a young boy who was a overnight guest.
Speaker 30:51
Authorities say more than one weapon was used in the brutal murders.
Nicholas Kristof· Guest0:55
Four of them died. One survived, even though his throat had been cut.
Tom Parker· Guest1:00
Did you have some injuries?
Josh Ryen· Guest1:02
Yeah. My throat was slashed, got stabbed here, hit by an ax here. Screwdriver punctured my back, punctured my lung, broke three ribs.
Nicholas Kristof· Guest1:13
The authorities then arrested and sentenced to death a young Black man, uh, named Kevin Cooper for the crime.
Norman Hile· Guest1:21
This occurred in a upper middle-class neighborhood, horse country. Finding somebody to pin it on was very