RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – A man who says he’s serving an unfairly long prison sentence because his jury thought he would be eligible for parole is asking Gov. Terry McAuliffe for relief.
Jerome D. Cooper received a 70-year prison sentence in 1999 after being convicted of murder and other charges in Newport News.
One of the jurors at Cooper’s sentencing said she and others thought when they sentenced him that he would be eligible for parole in about 20 years.
Virginia abolished parole in 1995. But judges weren’t required until 2000 to tell jurors that parole was no longer an option.
Cooper’s attorneys are now seeking a conditional pardon, asking Gov. Terry McAuliffe to reduce his sentence. His attorneys say jurors didn’t intend Cooper to serve so long.
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