Kamala Harris has been facing criticism from fellow Democrats over her criminal justice record during her time as a top California prosecutor. During last month’s Democratic debate, for example, Tulsi Gabbard slammed Harris for blocking DNA testing that could have exonerated death row inmate Kevin Cooper while she was district attorney of San Francisco.
Cooper was convicted of murdering Douglas and Peggy Ryen, their 10-year old daughter Jessica, and 11-year-old Christopher Hughes, a family friend of the Ryens’, during a home invasion in the Chino Hills area in 1983. For the past 15 years, his attorneys have been fighting for advanced testing of DNA evidence which they claim could exonerate their client, a move that was opposed by Harris while she was attorney general of California. Last year, after the case was publicized by the New York Times’ Nick Kristof, Harris backtracked and told the paper that she felt “awful about this” and now supports the testing, but did not explain what prompted her change of heart.
The Cooper saga is not the only case where Harris has pitted herself against a culprit who claims to have been wrongfully convicted. Here are five other times where Harris has bucked against criminal justice reform advocates:
1. When her staff prosecuted a reality star who was framed by police. Kamala Harris was district attorney of San Francisco in February 2010 when 29-year-old Jamal Trulove, a former reality star and aspiring hip-hop artist, was convicted of murdering 28-year-old Seu Kuka based on the testimony of a lone witness. After Trulove was sentenced to 50 years in prison, Harris praised the “brave eyewitness” for the conviction — but failed to mention that the woman had been paid over $60,000 by the prosecution and given new housing under the witness protection program. An appeals court later overturned the verdict after finding that prosecutors, working under Harris at the district attorney’s office, misrepresented the witness to the jury. In March, Trulove was awarded a $13 million settlement from the city due to allegations of police misconduct, including manipulating the witness and fabricating evidence.
2. When her office defended the sexual assault conviction of an electrician based on a technicality. Harris was attorney general of California in 2015 when her office fought to uphold a sexual assault conviction against a former electrician named George Gage. Gage, 79, had been found guilty of sexually abusing his ex-wife’s daughter in 1999 and was serving a 70-year sentence. Gage appealed, and a judge determined that prosecutors had withheld exculpatory evidence, including the accuser’s medical records and a statement from her mother calling her a “pathological liar.” Harris’ office successfully fought against a retrial on a procedural technicality, and Gage is still in prison.
3. When she fought compensation for a wrongfully convicted gang shooter. In 2002, Rafael Madrigal was convicted of a drive-by gang shooting and the attempted murder of Ricardo Aguilera in East Los Angeles. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Seven years later, a federal judge tossed the conviction due to inadequate legal defense by Madrigal’s attorney. The court found that Madrigal’s lawyer failed to introduce exculpatory evidence, including several alibis that said Madrigal was 35 miles away at work during the time of the attempted murder. After his release from prison, Madrigal asked the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board to compensate him $282,000 for the wrongful conviction. Kamala Harris, the state attorney general at the time, recommended that the board deny Madrigal’s request, arguing that he had not sufficiently proven his innocence.
4. When her office sought to retry a man who had been set up by police. In 1992, Caramad Conley was arrested for a drive-by gang shooting that killed two men in San Francisco. After the prosecution’s key witness testified that 18-year-old Conley had privately confessed to the murder, Conley was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Although the witness denied under oath that he had been compensated as part of the case, a subsequent investigation found that a detective had paid the witness. The witness had also been given housing by the prosecution and placed in a witness protection program. In December 2010, a judge vacated Conley’s conviction, citing “voluminous” evidence that the witness had lied. Harris was serving as district attorney of San Francisco at the time, and her office initially sought to retry the case, according to reports. One month later, after Harris left to start her new role as California attorney general, the San Francisco district attorney’s office agreed not to retry Conley. He later received a $3.5 million settlement from the city for wrongful conviction.
5. When she fought to keep a misidentified neo-Nazi in prison after his case was tossed. In 1998, a neo-Nazi gang member named Daniel Larsen was convicted of possession of a concealed weapon and sentenced to 27 years in prison. Police officers said they saw Larsen throw a six-inch knife under a car during a confrontation outside a Los Angeles bar. After the trial, nine eyewitnesses (including a North Carolina cop) came forward to dispute that Larsen had been the man holding the knife. A judge determined in 2010 that Larsen’s original attorney had failed to interview any witnesses at all and overturned the conviction. Despite the ruling, Harris, as state attorney general, blocked Larsen’s release for two years. After Larsen was finally let out, Harris appealed his release by arguing that he missed a paperwork deadline.
