by TChris

Kevin Cooper, whose execution was stayed just hours before his life was to end, is arguing that new tests should be conducted on the blood and hair evidence used to convict him of murdering four people in 1985.

Defense lawyers say testing on blood evidence could reveal the presence of a chemical that would indicate the blood was planted by investigators. Cooper's blood was found inside the [victims'] home and on a T-shirt that also contained the victim's blood. The shirt was found outside a bar several miles from the victims' home.

The defense also wants scientific testing on hairs found in the hands of some of the victims. The hairs aren't Cooper's, and the defense contends that they might belong to other, multiple killers.

The district judge scheduled a hearing in June to hear evidence about footprints found in the home of the murdered family.