Chicago-Area Man Pardoned By Pence’s Successor: 'I've Got My Name Back'

A Chicago-area forklift driver expressed gratitude to Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb Friday after being pardoned of a robbery and shooting he didn’t commit. It was the first time in Indiana history that a governor issued a pardon on the basis of innocence.

Keith Cooper, 49, spent nearly a decade in prison after being wrongly convicted in the 1996 Elkhart, Indiana, crime. He was released in 2006, but it wasn’t until now that his name was cleared.

WATCH Cooper’s press conference with civil rights attorney Elliot Slosar on Friday:

Cooper, who now lives in Country Club Hills, praised Holcomb for taking action after less than 30 days in office. Former Indiana Gov. Mike Pence refused to pardon Cooper before leaving office to become vice president, suggesting instead that Cooper petition for a new trial, the Indy Star reported.

“Four years of inaction by Gov. Pence is a disgrace,” Cooper said during a press conference on Friday. “(Holcomb) pardoned me, and I’m thankful.”

Cooper expressed gratitude that he is no longer known just by his former prison ID number.

“I’m a free man now,” he said. “I’ve got my name back.”

Cooper also reflected on his time spent behind bars. “I missed out on my kids growing up,” he said. “My baby boy just turned 21,” Cooper added, noting that his son was just a year old when he went to prison.

Cooper said he’d love to meet with the new Indiana governor.

“I would thank him for his compassion,” said Cooper, who also thanked those who launched an online petition to clear his name. “I think God for all of you,” he said. “Justice prevailed … and we won.”

Cooper was initially sentenced to 40 years in prison for the 1996 crime. The case was overturned and a new trial ordered in 2005, according to the Chicago Tribune. While charges were dropped against a co-defendant, who was awarded $5 million in a civil rights case, Cooper waived a new trial and opted to be released as a convicted felon.

DNA long ago identified another man as the shooter, the Tribune reported.

In 2009, Cooper began seeking a pardon with the help of University of Chicago Law School Exoneration Project attorney Elliot Slosar, according to Indy Star.

Holcomb granted Cooper a pardon on Thursday. Cooper did not receive a pardon for a separate battery incident in which he claimed he was defending himself against an inmate at the Elkhart County jail. He pleaded guilty in that case.

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