URL: sfgate.com/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/02/09/cooper1.TMP
A federal appeals court granted a temporary stay of execution this morning to Kevin Cooper, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection shortly after midnight for the murder of two adults and two children in 1983.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco put the execution at San Quentin Prison on hold until an 11-judge panel decides whether Cooper should be allowed to pursue his claims that authorities tampered with evidence to incriminate him and suppressed evidence that might have incriminated others.
There was no indication how long the stay would last. Cooper¹s death warrant is valid for 24 hours, beginning a minute after midnight Tuesday, meaning he could be executed immediately if the court lifts its stay during that time period. If the stay is in place beyond the 24- hour period, an execution would not take place for at least 40 days, assuming Cooper loses his appeal, while a lower court sets a new execution date.
Cooper, 46, was convicted of hacking and stabbing to death Doug and Peggy Ryen, their 10-year-old daughter, Jessica, and an 11-year-old houseguest, Chris Hughes, in the Ryens¹ San Bernardino County home of Chino Hills. Cooper had escaped from prison two days earlier and hidden out in a home next door to the Ryens.
Cooper has maintained his innocence and argued through his lawyers that San Bernardino County sheriff¹s investigators planted evidence against him, including DNA evidence two years ago that appeared to confirm his presence in the Ryens¹ house and their stolen car. On Sunday, a new witness came forward to say she saw two men come into a bar, not far from the crime scene, wearing bloody clothing the night of the murders.
State and federal courts have consistently ruled against Cooper and refused to let him reopen his case. A panel of the federal appeals court ruled 2-1 Sunday evening that most of the evidence Cooper¹s lawyers are now presenting should have been offered much earlier, and that none of it would prove his innocence.
But the dissenting judge, James R. Browning, said the case against Cooper was weak, new information supports defense claims of evidence- tampering, and the execution should be halted to allow new tests that could determine whether the DNA evidence was planted.
E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko at sfchronicle.com.