Before Republicans all get together and decide to ignore the sage advice of Mr. Winston Wolf, here's another tale of Mike Pence, the Grown Up In The Room. The Evansville Courier and Press has some words of advice to the Christian, conservative, and Republican, in that order.

Rather than issuing the much-deserved pardon that's supported by a former Elkhart County deputy prosecutor, the Indiana Parole Board and the victims in the crime, Pence, through his general counsel, said in a letter that Keith Cooper must first seek post-conviction relief in court before a pardon is considered. Cooper, 49, was convicted and sentenced to 40 years for an October 1996 armed robbery in the apartment complex where he lived, during which a 17-year-old was shot in the stomach. After the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned his co-defendant's conviction in 2005, Cooper was given the choice of being set free with the felony conviction on his record or facing a new trial before the same judge. He chose to go home to his wife and three children — who were homeless at times during his wrongful incarceration.

There aren't any doubts about Cooper's innocence, as The Chicago Tribune points out.

DNA evidence points to another man as the shooter, and the victims and former Elkhart County prosecutor who helped convict him now say Cooper is innocent. Still, in a Sept. 20 letter, the governor's general counsel told Cooper's attorney they first must pursue all possible judicial options before the governor will act on the pardon request. The move essentially allowed the Republican vice presidential candidate to avoid ruling on the Country Club Hills man's claim of innocence until a new Indiana governor takes over in January. Attorney Elliot Slosar, who represents Cooper, described the move as a delay tactic. He filed the petition Monday in Elkhart County, but Slosar said all the delays may hurt their chances as prosecutors may argue the newly discovered evidence is too old to meet the requirement of being considered actually new.

This is not conservative. This is not Christian. But making Cooper go through another trial when you know he's innocent and because it will fob an easy decision off on your successor is sure as hell Republican. Mike Pence is demonstrably both cruel and cowardly. He's perfect.

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Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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