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A man who was wrongly convicted of robbery must first exhaust all of his court options before the Indiana Governor’s office will grant him a pardon. But a deal he made with prosecutors in order to gain his freedom required him to withdraw his petition for post-conviction relief. That decision complicates Keith Cooper’s path toward a pardon, but it’s not insurmountable, Professor Fran Watson said in a news story published by the Indianapolis Star on September 21.

DNA evidence points to another culprit in the crime for which Cooper was convicted. The deputy prosecutor in the case supports a pardon, as does the Indiana Parole Board. The Governor’s office insists that Cooper’s legal team exhaust legal options in court before the office will consider a pardon. Cooper’s felony conviction prevents him from finding better employment.

"I think Mr. Cooper is going to have an uphill battle to vacate his conviction because of the earlier agreement," Professor Watson said in the story. "That said, uphill battles can be won."

Professor Watson knows a few things about uphill battles and winning. She and the Wrongful Conviction Clinic she teaches in won the release of Darryl Pinkins in April 2016. Pinkins was convicted of crimes he did not commit and had served 25 years in prison. She received the case in 1999 on a referral from the Innocence Project, along with that of Roosevelt Glenn. Glenn is Pinkins’ former co-worker and co-defendant. Professor Watson appealed the case six times before winning Pinkins’ release.