A new petition was filed today (Monday) in the Supreme Court demanding that another hearing be held for Shimon Cooper, who was convicted of murdering two of his wives in an extended panel.
Last May, the Supreme Court rejected Cooper's appeal of his conviction for the murder of his two wives - the late Orit Cooper and the late Jenny Mor-Haim.
The petition was filed by the Israel Retrial Association for the Presumption of Innocence and through attorneys Moshe Friedel and Moshe Yossov.
Recall that in May 2022 the Supreme Court rejected an earlier appeal filed by Cooper by a majority of Justices Yitzhak Amit and George Kara.
The judge, Yosef Elron, who is in the minority, believed that Cooper should be acquitted because of the doubt.
The present petition states that the judgment in Koppel's case does not place evidence beyond a reasonable doubt for the commission of the acts, which is a principle of criminal law, and thus constitutes a precedent that can affect other defendants whose conviction will not necessarily meet proof of reasonable doubt.
Moshe Friedel, Photo: Reuven Ben Haim
Adv. Moshe Yosov, Photo: None
"As part of the ruling, the fences of halakhah that constitute cornerstones in criminal law and evidence law were breached, in a way that allows, in the future, the conviction of defendants on the basis of a very poor and poor evidentiary infrastructure, one that does not meet the criteria set by the Israeli judiciary." Written in the petition.
It was further argued that the rules established in rejecting Koppel's appeal are in part in conflict with previous rules of the Supreme Court.
Worse, the petition even alleges that the court was influenced by Cooper's character and led to his conviction at all costs.
"The judgment shows that the petitioner's conviction was upheld mainly following the negative opinion of the Honorable Court regarding the petitioner's character and personality, when after the said opinion was formulated, the Honorable Court forced the evidence, and the law of evidence, to conform to the situation. In it, the petitioner's conviction will be upheld at all costs, and even though the evidence in my case has not reached the standard of proof required by law. "
Cooper's lawyers responded: "Simon Cooper is not the whole point. The legal consequences and laws established in his case are inconsistent with the requirement of conviction beyond a reasonable doubt as required by law in criminal law."
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