A jailhouse liar sent Pete Coones to prison for 12 years. Kansas lawmakers, fix the system

What would someone say to get out of jail? And what if that someone made false statements that ended up being about you?

In November, Kansan Olin “Pete” Coones was exonerated of murder after spending 12 years in prison. Lies told by a jailhouse informant put him there. 

Before his wrongful conviction, Coones led a normal life, working as a mail carrier and raising his five children together with his wife, Dee. But that changed in 2008, when he was arrested for the murders of Kathy and Carl Schroll. 

All evidence indicated that the Schrolls’ deaths were a tragic murder-suicide that occurred as multiple pressures came down on Kathy. She had been the caretaker for Coones’ late father, Olin, and investigations into how she treated Olin and handled his money were catching up to her. As a result, Kathy sought to connect Coones to the crime through a call she made to her mother shortly before her death, claiming that he was at her home and threatening to shoot her. 

Based on that call, the Wyandotte County district attorney’s office charged Coones with double murder. At trial, the jury acquitted him of killing Carl Schroll, but convicted him of murdering Kathy. That conviction was thrown out after the judge found that the prosecutor illegally withheld evidence. 

Nonetheless, Coones was retried. This time, the prosecutor used testimony from a jailhouse informant named Robert Rupert, who claimed that Coones confessed while they shared a cell in the Butler County jail.

The Butler County district attorney’s office had warned Wyandotte County prosecutors that Rupert was unreliable and had mental health issues. Indeed, at the time he was facing a 47-month sentence, and his record included domestic assault and 15 crimes of dishonesty. Still, the county prosecutor offered Rupert a deal, and threatened him with jail time when he refused to testify. Based on Rupert’s testimony, the jury convicted Coones. 

Why would a jury believe Rupert? While prosecutors are constitutionally required to tell the defense about evidence that could discredit state witnesses, the prosecutor did not disclose Rupert’s cooperation agreement, criminal history or other problematic information to Coones’ attorney. And on the witness stand, Rupert denied wanting a deal, leaving the defense without any evidence that would have cast doubt on Rupert’s motivations and credibility.

As a result, Coones lost 12 years of his life. But innocent Kansans like him are not the only ones who pay the price when the state trades leniency for testimony. Victims of crimes committed by jailhouse informants can also be denied justice when the informant gets a deal in exchange for their testimony. And taxpayers end up covering the cost of compensation and lawsuits stemming from wrongful convictions. 

To end these injustices, Kansas should follow the lead of other states that have adopted strong protections to regulate the use of such informants. Connecticut and Illinois require pretrial hearings, where judges can screen out unreliable testimony before it is heard by a jury. Connecticut, Maryland and Oklahoma created statewide systems to track jailhouse informant testimony and deals. All of these states, as well as Florida, Nebraska and Texas, specify exactly when and what types of background materials the prosecutors must disclose.

State lawmakers should implement these measures when the legislature reconvenes and ensure Kansans are convicted only on reliable evidence. Pete Coones and his family can never get back the years that were taken from them. But Kansas can learn from his case and protect other innocent Kansans going forward.

Tricia Rojo Bushnell is executive director of the Midwest Innocence Project, which represented Olin “Pete” Coones in his exoneration.