Criminal Cases: The Florida Case Of Cooper V. State (1999)

Although current law does not distinctly define TBIs according to mens rea or diminished capacity, a possible defense that may appropriately be applied to criminal cases is the law as it relates to mitigating circumstances in sentencing. The Florida case of Cooper v. State (1999) is just one of very few cases in the country that seemingly acknowledges the fact that recurrent or traumatic head injuries may be a mitigating factor to criminal behavior. The defendant, Albert Cooper, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery with a firearm, and armed burglary with a firearm after him and his partner, Tivan Johnson, killed the owner of a local pawnshop, Charles Barker, after robbing the location on May 25, 1991. The court ultimately found Mr. Cooper guilty as charged, which made him eligible to receive

Coopers behalf, alleging that mitigating factors made him ineligible for capital punishment (Cooper v. State, 1999). The defense argued that the defendant suffered from severe and significant brain injuries that caused an impairment in judgement at the in which the crime occurred. Even though Mr. Cooper was 18 years-old when the crime took place, both his family and expert witnesses testified that Mr. Cooper had suffered from a substantial amount of physical and mental abuse throughout most of his early childhood, which eventually led Mr. Cooper to develop chronic symptoms commonly associated with severe cognitive and psychological dysfunction. For instance, one sister testified that she saw their father smash Mr. Cooper’s head against the family’s refrigerator on numerous occasions; his other sister claimed that their father would literally put a gun up to their heads as children any time that he wanted to threaten them into following his rules or directions; and Mr. Cooper’s aunt also testified to similar claims as the two sisters as well (Cooper v. State,