Roger Carlos Ray was convicted in 1987 of the gruesome robbery-murder of apartment manager John Holmes at 6017 Grand River on Easter Sunday.
Roger Carlos Ray with daughters Carla Mason (l) and Rashawn Ray (r) at the age of 3, in earlier years,
Investigation by P.I. Scott Lewis revealed suppressed evidence showing that Edmond Wright, the chief witness against Ray at trial, likely killed Holmes
Court of Appeals remanded, ordered evidentiary hearing in 2024, Judge Paul Cusick conducted hearing, granted new trial in thorough, forthright opinion
Third Wayne CC Judge Rula Aoun dismissed all charges against Ray without prejudice Oct. 20, with concurrence by defense and prosecution attorneys
KENNETH COOPER
Kenneth Cooper, also covered by Ricardo Ferrell in VOD, continues to fight for freedom from his wrongful conviction due to criminal INJUSTICE system. Despite higher court rulings acknowledging complete lack of evidence against him, and her own review indicating the same, WCCC Judge Chandra Baker-Robinson denied relief for Cooper in 2025, and higher state courts followed suit. Read about his case in links below Roger Carlos Ray’s story.
FREEDOM DAY FOR CARLOS RAY: JUSTICE PREVAILS
By Ricardo Ferrell, VOD Field Editor (photos also by Ricardo Ferrell)
With Diane Bukowski, VOD Editor
VOD Editor’s Note: We welcome Ricardo Ferrell back to the Voice of Detroit; he wrote over 40 stories for VOD on wrongful convictions and other urgent prison issues from behind the walls, before his release in 2021; his love for and dedication to those victimized by mass incarceration shines forth from his very being.
October 25, 2026
DETROIT – For over 12,000 days, Roger Carlos Ray has maintained his innocence, telling anyone who would listen that the cops had the wrong man. This is a 1987 homicide case that’s been covered by Voice of Detroit over the last five years.
Ray came to the attention of VOD when it learned that police had suppressed evidence from Ray’s homicide “miscellaneous” file that another suspect in the case was likely the real killer, in violation of Brady v. Maryland. That suspect, Edmond Wright, was the chief witness against Ray at trial. There was no physical or forensic evidence.
Wrongful convictions like that of Roger Carlos Ray are a travesty of justice. Here you have someone that the police knew could be innocent, yet they pursued Ray anyway based on Wright’s testimony, after he gave homicide detectives at least three conflicting and inconsistent statements about Ray being the killer of John Holmes. What never came out during the jury trial is the fact that the same witness himself was a prime suspect in the crime.
P. I. Scott Lewis
The Michigan Court of Appeals ordered a new trial and an evidentiary hearing in 2024, citing evidence found by Private Investigator Scott Lewis pointing to Wright as the killer. It noted police in the case had deliberately hidden evidence related to an alternate suspect. The COA retained jurisdiction. It barred any appeal from the trial court’s new ruling without the COA’s review.
But the Wayne County Prosecutor ignored the COA’s order and appealed a subsequent ruling from WCCC Judge John Paul Cusick. The Michigan Supreme Court denied their appeal, noting that the COA has not reviewed new developments in the case.
COA Judge Borrello’s comments during 2024 oral arguments on Ray’s case:
Complete opinion at: http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Roger-Carlos-Ray-COA-10-3-2024.pdf
Supporters at Ray’s Oct. 20 hearing included (l to r) Rudy Spain, British Chapman, Gloria Ray, Arthur Ray III, Ricardo Ferrell and exoneree Lavone Hill, who has been campaigning for Ray for several years. A number of other exonerees were also present.
In a well-thought out, thoroughly researched ruling that stands as a model for other judges, 3rd Wayne Circuit Court Judge Paul Cusick conducted an evidentiary hearing and granted Ray a new trial, based on the testimony of Scott Lewis and William Mitchell, a witness Lewis discovered, who testified that he was with Wright after the killing and that Wright showed him the money from John Holmes’ safe and asked him to get rid of the two guns he used to kill Holmes, which he did not do.
Cusick’s ruling gave deference to both the defense and the prosecution. Instead of relying on obscure court rule requirements that block innocence claims, Judge Cusick analyzed the defense and prosecution arguments in great detail, and ordered a new trial based on his own analysis of the facts and the law. This is highly unusual, given recent rulings by other WCCC judges bent on denying innocence appeals, using court rules that effectively block such claims. His complete ruling is at
When Cusick moved to the Civil Division of the 3rd Circuit Court, he was replaced by Judge Rula Aoun, appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, on Sept. 14. 2026. Judge Aoun appears to be carrying on in Cusick’s footsteps.
Still shot from NBC’s interview with WC Prosecutor Kym Worthy Aug. 8, 2021.
Initially, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office wanted to retry Ray on the same first- degree murder charge. But on October 20, 2026, Judge Rula Aoun threw the conviction out, after the Asst. Prosecutor admitted that their office and the police had tried to locate Wright for months to testify at a new trial, to no avail.
Atty. Peter Dee
Ray’s convictions were dismissed without prejudice, as is the case for most Wayne County exonerees who have later been declared exonerated in the National Register of Exonerations.
“Mr. Ray is finally free after serving more than 33 years in prison for a crime that he did not commit,” Ray’s attorney Peter Dee told VOD at Ray’s joyful reunion with his family Oct. 20,
“His conviction was based on an unjust prosecution where exculpatory evidence was purposefully withheld from him and from the jury. Mr. Ray never stopped fighting to prove his innocence. He has succeeded, and we are thankful that he is free.”
Ray’s family members who welcomed Ray home Oct. 20, 2026 told VOD their own stories in the comments below.
A Justice Cry for Kenneth Cooper
***********************************************************************************
URGENT. Funds needed for quarterly web hosting charge of $479.00.VOD, a pro bono newspaper, now devotes itself entirely to stories about our PRISON NATION and POLICE STATE.
VOD’s editors and reporters, most of whom live on fixed incomes or are incarcerated, are not paid for their work. In addition to quarterly web hosting charge. other expenses include P.O. box fee of $226.00/yr., costs including utility and internet bills, costs for research including court records and internet fees, office supplies, gas, etc.
Please DONATE TO VOD at:
https://www.gofundme.com/donate-to-vod
***********************************************************************************
