Roy Cooper's Failures Left Victims Helpless | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    RALEIGH, NC     As the state's chief law enforcement officer, Attorney General Roy Cooper's ineptitude with the North Carolina state crime lab has left countless victims in limbo without the necessary evidence to push forward with prosecution. His failures have resulted in a statewide median wait time of over 641 days for murder cases, personnel conducting tests without the proper training, and crooked recommendations on his behalf. Roy Cooper's failure to fix his Crime Lab's problems has allowed alleged perpetrators to go free, allowing the statute of limitations to run out or incarcerating people for years while families endure hopelessness and sleepless nights waiting for justice.

    Representative Marilyn Avila, a scientist and professional chemist and Representative Holly Grange an attorney and security professional- testified on the egregious errors and untimely responses Roy Cooper provided in his management of North Carolina's crime lab.

• "As a professional chemist, and in my experience throughout my many years of lab work and science, I cannot stress the importance of proper documentation enough. Proper documentation is imperative for the quality and clarity of scientific results- and has a serious impact in a court in law as cases are argued, and sometimes re-argued in an appeals process. Without proper documentation, the evidence cannot be trusted. This was one of the reasons our General Assembly removed SBI under the management of Roy Cooper in 2014. Both Cooper and his team needed accountability, and we took the extraordinary step to help provide that accountability and justice for the people of North Carolina." - Representative Marilyn Avila

• "I was an Army officer for 15 years and I'm an attorney. I am responsible to the taxpayers of North Carolina as a State Representative, and the failures at Roy Cooper's crime lab are extremely costly to the people of this state. Roy Cooper has not taken ownership in resolving the egregious issues at the state crime lab- victims, suspects, and the wrongly accused are carrying the weight of those failures. Roy Cooper's leadership has failed North Carolina." - Representative Holly Grange

• "The backlog of evidence to be processed in Cooper's crime lab for cases involving murder, rape and sexual assault is inexcusable. Hundreds of victims are still waiting for their day of justice. And if there was ever motivation for Roy Cooper to finally do his job- one would think this would be it." Kami Mueller, Spokeswoman, NCGOP

    BACKGROUND:

• Greg McLeod Was The Chief Lobbyist For Attorney General Roy Cooper Before Being Appointed Director Of The SBI. "For the past five years, Greg McLeod has pushed Attorney General Roy Cooper's agenda at the General Assembly. Now, as the new director of the State Bureau of Investigation, McLeod has been given the task of reforming an agency in crisis, a role that differs greatly from cajoling lawmakers into giving funds and writing laws sought by Cooper." (M. Locke & J. Neff, "Some Fear SBI Task Is Beyond McLeod," The News & Observer, 8/22/10)

• "The Long Waits Come At A Price, Not Only For The Victim's Families Or The Potential Justice Of The Accused, But Also For The Taxpayer." (Emily Weaver, "Wait Gets Longer For Murder Trials," Hendersonville Times-News, 7/27/14)

• Agents "Work Within Policies" That "Bias The Agency" Toward The Prosecution And "Away From Basic Fairness." "Many agents don't cheat. But even those following the rules work within policies, practices and state laws that bias the agency and its scientists toward the side of prosecutors and away from basic fairness." (M. Locke & J. Neff, "SBI Ignores Years Of Warnings On Confession Called 'Fiction,'" The News & Observer, 8/8/10)

• Cooper Only Acted "After The Agency's Public Humiliation" But Only Investigated The Blood Analysis Unit. "High-profile cases have shown problems for years, and the bosses at the SBI and Attorney General's Office - who allowed Floyd Brown to be locked away at a state mental hospital - typically have done nothing. Only in the last year, after the agency's public humiliation from Taylor's exoneration, did Cooper act. In March, he began an independent audit of the blood analysis unit. That review did not include other sections of the lab." (M. Locke & J. Neff, "SBI Ignores Years Of Warnings On Confession Called 'Fiction,'" The News & Observer, 8/8/10)

    "Practically Every Year The SBI Crime Lab Has Sought Accreditation, It Has Had To Fix Policies Or Remediate A Case." (M. Locke & J. Neff, "SBI Lab Analysts Taught In-House, Away From Peers," The News & Observer, 8/10/10)

    Cooper, A Democrat, Didn't Act Until 2009, In The Face Of A Lawsuit That Will Likely Cost Taxpayers And Their Insurers Millions Of Dollars." (M. Locke & J. Neff, "SBI Ignores Years Of Warnings On Confession Called 'Fiction,'" The News & Observer, 8/8/10)

• Cooper "Failed To Investigate Isley's Work." "The Charlotte Observer and national media pressed Cooper for answers in 2007. But for four years, SBI leadership and the Attorney General's Office failed to investigate Isley's work." (M. Locke & J. Neff, "SBI Ignores Years Of Warnings On Confession Called 'Fiction,'" The News & Observer, 8/8/10)

• Desmond's Work "Threatened The Integrity" Of The SBI. "Desmond's answer was quick, sure and pleasing to the prosecution. But her work in the case has threatened the integrity of yet another unit of the State Bureau of Investigation." (M. Locke & J. Neff, "SBI Relies On Bullet Analysis That Critics Deride As Unreliable," The News & Observer, 8/13/10)

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

MURDER
    For The 2001-2002 Fiscal Year, The Average Murder Case Was Disposed In 369 Days. (Summary, "2001-2002 North Carolina Trial Court Caseload," North Carolina Administrative Office Of The Courts, July 2002)

    For The 2015-2016 Fiscal Year, The Average Murder Case Was Disposed In 641 Days. (Summary, "2015-2016 North Carolina Trial Court Caseload," North Carolina Administrative Office Of The Courts," July 2016)

SEXUAL ASSAULT
    For The 2001-2002 Fiscal Year, The Average Sexual Assault Case Was Disposed In 243 Days. (Summary, "2001-2002 North Carolina Trial Court Caseload," North Carolina Administrative Office Of The Courts, July 2002)

    For The 2015-2016 Fiscal Year, The Average Sexual Assault Case Was Disposed In 478 Days. (Summary, "2015-2016 North Carolina Trial Court Caseload," North Carolina Administrative Office Of The Courts," July 2016)

• Contact: NCGOP Communications
•     communications@ncgop.org