Kevin Cooper

Who is Kevin Cooper?

Kevin Cooper is a death row inmate currently held in California's San Quentin Prison. Cooper was convicted of four murders that occurred in the Chino Hills area of California in 1983. Since his imprisonment, Cooper, who is African American, has become active in writing letters from prison decrying the judicial establishment as racist, protesting his innocence, and against the death penalty in general. His habeas corpus petitions have been denied, however, with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit stating that "As the district court, and all state courts, have repeatedly found, evidence of Cooper's guilt was overwhelming. The tests that he asked for to show his innocence 'once and for all' show nothing of the sort." In a dissenting opinion, Judge William A. Fletcher argued that the police may have tampered with the evidence and that the Ninth Circuit should have reheard the case en banc and should have "ordered the district judge to give Cooper the fair hearing he has never had."