Berkeley Rallies to Halt the Execution of Kevin Cooper

The 46-year-old prisoner, scheduled to die Feb. 10 for the 1983 murders of four people, made a collect call from San Quentin State Prison to the First Congregational Church of Berkeley to plead his case to the public.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/02/01/BAGF84MJ2L1.DTL

BERKELEY -- The day after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denied clemency to a Death Row inmate convicted of murder, death penalty opponents vowed to keep up their fight against capital punishment.

"You have the right ... to stop these crimes against humanity," Derrel Myers told an audience of activists and students who gathered Saturday to protest the possible death of Kevin Cooper, who is scheduled to be executed Feb. 10. "We are going to change the world."

Cooper telephoned the gathering from San Quentin, but a scratchy phone line made it impossible to understand his statement. Supporters promised to post a written version on the Internet later.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/7845620.htm