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<font face="arial" size=3><br><br>
</font><tt>Here is a statement from Kevin Cooper since he won a stay of
execution.<br>
Kevin mailed the statement to Campaign member Crystal Bybee. Crystal
was<br>
asked by Kevin to be one of the witnesses at his execution, along
with<br>
fellow CEDPers Rebecca Downer and Elizabeth Terzakis (my previous
circular<br>
unfortunately left off Rebecca, who has been working on Kevin's case
from<br>
the beginning, sorry for that error).<br><br>
<br>
Ritual of Death<br>
By Kevin Cooper<br><br>
On Monday, February 9th, 2004 shortly after 6:15 p.m., Rev. Jessie
Jackson<br>
said a prayer for me and my visitors inside the visiting room here at
San<br>
Quentin Prison. Then he and my personal pastor and friends were told
to<br>
leave, which they did.<br>
I was then escorted to the rear of the visiting area
and taken to a<br>
hallway which contained holding cells. I was then placed in the
holding<br>
cell, where I had the handcuffs removed, and was then told to get
undressed,<br>
which I did. I was strip-searched and given a brand new set of
prison-issued<br>
clothing and told to put them on.<br>
I was handcuffed after I got dressed and was removed
from that cell,<br>
where I was handed over to another squad of officers. I was surrounded
by<br>
about six officers and escorted to the death chamber waiting room. When
I<br>
was in the visiting room, the prison officials told me that the
Ninth<br>
Circuit Court of Appeals had granted me a stay of execution, but until
they<br>
heard from the United States Supreme Court about whether or not my
stay<br>
would stay in place, this prison was going to proceed as if I had no stay
in<br>
place.<br>
When I arrived outside the death chamber waiting room
door, it was<br>
opened, and I was told to go inside, which I did. I was then told to
place<br>
my back on the wall while being surrounded by a new squad of officers.
These<br>
were the officers of the execution squad. There were about eight of
them.<br>
The leader of the squad got real close to me and asked me if there was
going<br>
to be any trouble when they took the handcuffs off of me? I looked him
in<br>
his eyes and told him "no," and he removed the handcuffs.<br>
I was again told to take off all my clothes, which I
did, and I was<br>
again strip-searched. This time, they used a flashlight to light up both
my<br>
mouth and butt as they searched me! This room that I was now in was
very,<br>
very cold; the temperature had to be in the lower 50s. I stood barefoot
on<br>
that cold floor surrounded by those officers while my body was
completely<br>
searched. Then I was given another new set of clothing, only these were
the<br>
ones that I was to be executed in.<br>
I was then placed in another cell, only this new one
was half the size<br>
as a regular cell. It had only a toilet, a mattress and pillow in it.
I<br>
stood there in the cold, waiting for my pastor to come pray with me, and
for<br>
me. All the time not knowing what the United States Supreme Court was
going<br>
to do.<br>
About a half hour later, my pastor arrived, and she
was placed in a cell<br>
next to mine. It was to my right-hand side, but on an angle, and it
was<br>
hard to see her through the cell bars, but I managed. I was asked
once<br>
again, did I want a last meal. I said no. I was asked, did I want water.
I<br>
said no. The warden came in and asked me, did I have a final statement.
I<br>
said no. My arms were once again checked so they could make sure that
they<br>
could find my veins, and officers were passing by with armfuls of
alcohol<br>
pads/swabs and other assorted items for my murder, and their
execution!<br>
My pastor did a great job in keeping me focused, and
somewhere in the<br>
middle of one of her scriptures, the phone rang. It was my attorney
calling<br>
to let me know she was with me in spirit, and as soon as she heard
something<br>
from the U.S. Supreme Court, she would call and let me know.<br>
I entered the death chamber waiting room around 6:35
p.m., and around<br>
8:15 p.m., the phone rang again, and it was once again my attorney. She
told<br>
me that she heard from the court and that they refused to hear the
state's<br>
petition. They denied the state and upheld my stay!!!<br>
Even before I told my pastor the news, I told those
officers that I<br>
meant them no disrespect in what I was about to say to them, but
they<br>
weren't going to do their job tonight! I then told my pastor, and her and
I<br>
prayed! I came within three hours and 45 minutes of being murdered by
the<br>
state of California.<br>
I am now recovering from the manmade ritual of death
that I had to<br>
experience. I will never be the same again! I am only getting stronger
and<br>
more determined to do my part in shutting down the U.S. government's
pride<br>
and joy: 'Their capital punishment system!'<br><br>
In Struggle<br>
From Death Row,<br>
Kevin Cooper<br><br>
<br><br>
</tt><font size=3 color="#FF0000">The Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br>
(415) 863-9977<br>
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