by TChris

Despite recent pleas by Denzel Washington and others to spare the life of Kevin Cooper, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger rejected Cooper's request for clemency. Cooper is scheduled to be executed on February 10. According to Schwarzenegger:

"Evidence establishing his guilt is overwhelming, and his conversion to faith and his mentoring of others, while commendable, do not diminish the cruelty and destruction he has inflicted on so many. His is not a case for clemency."

Cooper's attorney disagrees:

"There are too many unanswered questions about the evidence in this case and until those questions are answered, there is no reason to rush to kill Kevin Cooper," attorney Lanny Davis said in a statement.

"There is compelling evidence that police planted DNA evidence to link Cooper to the crime and there has yet to be testing of the blond hairs found in the death grip of the victim's hands (Cooper is African-American)."

California has executed only ten persons since 1976. Avenues of relief are rapidly diminishing for Cooper in light of Schwarzenegger's rejection of his request for clemency.