“People still know about this case,” Indianapolis attorney Jack Crawford, who was the Lake County prosecutor during Cooper’s murder trial, told The Indianapolis Star. “The name Paula Cooper still resonates, and she’s going to attract some attention when she is released.”
But, he said, Cooper has done her time and may yet contribute to society. Crawford said he has come to oppose the death penalty since Cooper’s conviction.
Cooper’s sister, Rhonda Labroi, said she hopes people will see Paula as more than a killer. After getting in trouble 23 times during her time in prison, Paula Cooper turned to education, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2001.
“She was just a child at the time that happened, and now she is an adult and people should wait and see and give her a chance,” Labroi said. “Give her an opportunity. Maybe she’ll do some wonderful things for children who are growing up and aren’t so fortunate, like she was.
“There are second chances,” she said. “It seems like God has given her another chance. I think if people give her a second chance, she’ll do fine.”
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