BUFFALO, July 22, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Pro-lifers who believe James Kopp is being framed for the murder of abortionist Barnett Slepian are crying foul after the judge in the case has ordered Kopp to stand up in police lineups, wearing a fake mustache and a fake beard, and with his hair dyed reddish-brown, to conform with the way police claim Kopp looked on the night Slepian was killed in October 1998. Mark Crutcher, president of Life Dynamics, which in its own investigation into the murder has found Kopp innocent, said: “I’ve seen nothing yet to suggest Jim Kopp is not being framed.” Judge Michael L. D’Amico’s order is a concern to Kopp’s attorney as well. Paul J. Cambria Jr., Kopp’s lawyer, said, “In more than 20 years defending criminal cases, I’ve never had a client who was told he had to stand up in a lineup wearing a fake beard, fake mustache and hair dye.” Cambria noted: “What’s silly is to have witnesses ID a picture, and then make (Kopp) up to look like the picture and put him in a lineup. That’s about as contrived as you can get.”
The judge has also ordered Kopp to give samples of his handwriting, blood, head hair and pubic hair. The prosecution is claiming to have evidence that Kopp belonged to two gun clubs. Kopp’s attorney says that the samples are being refused until the prosecution is at least required to release the witness statements the requests are based on. “This is outrageous. The whole system is corrupt, from top to bottom,” Crutcher concluded. “That’s what we’ve been saying right along.”
See the Life Dynamics Kopp investigation: https://www.lifedynamics.com/FreeStuff/index.cfm?fuseaction=KoppReport See the Buffalo News coverage: https://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20020720/1021507.asp