College diploma symbolize new beginning for inmates
Convicted killer Paula Cooper is among 17 grads
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Proud moment: Paula Cooper got a hug from her sister, Rhonda Labroi, after she and 16 other inmates received college diplomas Friday at the Indiana Women's Prison. |
It was the usual pomp and circumstance — formal attire, lofty speeches and hugs all around. But for the 17 female prisoners whose friends and families watched them receive their college diplomas Friday at the Indiana Women's Prison, it was much more than that.
"Hold your heads up and be proud," said Superintendent Dana Blank. "You have a lot of power and the door is open to you."
Figuratively speaking, of course, considering the graduate with the earliest release date won't be out of prison until 2005.
Among the new graduates was one particularly notable prisoner — Paula Cooper, the Gary woman who was sentenced to death at age 16 for the 1985 murder of Ruth Pelke. Cooper and three other teen-age girls had planned only to rob the 78-year-old Bible teacher. But before it was over, Cooper had stabbed Pelke more than 30 times.
After she confessed. Cooper was convicted of murder and sent to Death Row, a decision that enraged human rights activists and death penalty opponents around the world. In 1988, an Italian priest brought a petition to Indianapolis with more than 2 million signatures protesting Cooper's sentence. The next year, the Indiana Supreme Court set aside her death sentence and sentenced her to 60 years in prison. With time off for good behavior, she is scheduled to be released in February 2017.
Cooper, 31, was once dubbed "Indiana’s most violent female inmate" by the state's top prison official, and she spent three years in solitary confinement after attacking a prison guard. But since her release from that unit in 1998, Cooper hasn't displayed any signs of violence and prison spokeswoman, Pam Pattison, said her recent record is nearly flawless.
At Friday's ceremony, Cooper appeared to family and friends a changed woman.
Wearing a silky black commencement robe over her cream-colored suit, Cooper could hardly repress a smile as she approached the podium to accept her diploma, a bachelor's in humanities from Martin University.
Although Cooper declined to comment after the ceremony, her father, Herman, said that earning a college degree has been a turning point in his daughter's life. "It means a lot to us," he said.
Also attending Friday's graduation was Gabriele De Veris, an Italian man who traveled to Indianapolis this week to show support for Cooper. De Veris, who's been writing to Cooper since 1987, brought a gift for his pen pal: about $3,000.
Warren Lewis, a professor and dean of research at Martin who taught Cooper on several occasions, described her as "a brilliant girl." He said she wrote a comprehensive final paper on eating disorders.
But Lewis said his most compelling moment with Cooper came during a philosophy class when he asked her why she had killed Pelke. Lewis said she replied with a shocking answer: "No one had ever asked her WHY she did anything."
"Paula was living the unexamined life," he said.
Lewis said Cooper's situation is indicative of a greater problem within the Indiana Department of Correction — prisoners who get lost in the system.
"There's no correcting going on," he said. "There's no engaging these people by their souls."
But in Cooper's case at least one critic doesn't think that's possible.
Henry Karlson, a professor at Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, who has followed Cooper's case, doesn't think she is capable of rehabilitation.
Although he is not a psychologist, Karlson has worked on and studied several cases in which mental condition has been an issue. He believes Cooper's heinous crime and subsequent actions indicate a dangerous antisocial personality disorder.
"Although she's graduated from college, her problem isn't a lack of ignorance," he said. "It's a lack of conscience."
Karlson said he thinks Cooper is just manipulating the prison system until she gets what she wants. "And when she's released," he said, "there's no telling what might happen."
"She's a completely self-serving person," he said. "She'll behave very well if it's to her advantage."
STAFF WRITER Jennifer Wagner you can contact her at 1-317-615-2383 or via e-mail at jennifer.wagner@indystar.com
Killer, victim: Paula Cooper of Gary was 15 when she killed Bible teacher Ruth Pelke in 1985, stabbing her 33 times.
The crime
Paula Cooper and three other teen-age girls were involved in the 1985 killing of Ruth Pelke, 78. Cooper, imprisoned in Indianapolis, is scheduled to be released in 2017. She is 31.
Paula Cooper was 16 when she was sentenced to death. The Indiana Supreme Court later reduced her sentence to 60 years in prison
Here's the status of the other three women:
• April Beverly lived across the street from Pelke and had taken Bible lessons from her. Beverly received a 25-year sentence and was released from prison on April 10, 1999. She is 31.
• Denise Thomas was sentenced to 35 years. She is incarcerated at the Rockville Correctional Facility for Women in Parke County and is scheduled to be released on Oct. 9, 2002. She is 39.
• No Information was available on Karen Korders.
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