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Reporter Claims Evidence Against Cooper was Planted
As the date for the execution of convicted quadruple murderer Kevin Cooper draws near, a former reporter has come forward with what she claims is evidence proving the condemned man's innocence.

Kristina Rebelo, who worked as a reporter for the United Press International wire service, claims to have met a man who has firsthand knowledge that evidence was planted in the case. "He said to me 'Kevin Cooper did not kill that family' and I said 'yes he did, I was there, I saw the evidence,'" said Rebelo. "'Kevin Cooper killed that family' and he said 'no he didn't. We were told to plant evidence.'"

Cooper has long claimed that the crime was committed by others, and that evidence linking him to the crime scene was fabricated.

In addition to the revelations by Rebelo, other moves are taking place to at least postpone the execution. Attorneys for Cooper have filed a petition in federal court asking for a delay in the inmate's sentence. The petition claims that lethal injections used to administer the death penalty in California constitute "cruel and unusual punishment" in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Attorney David Alexander argued that potassium chloride used to stop the heart of the condemned man causes "excruciating pain." He noted that the substance has been outlawed for use on animals in several states.

Deputy California Attorney General Holly Wilkins responded that an anesthetic is given before the potassium chloride is administered, rendering the prisoner unable to feel any discomfort.

Cooper is scheduled to die at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning at San Quentin Prison. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has already rejected a clemency request.

Cooper was convicted of four counts of murder for the 1983 slayings of Douglas and Peggy Ryen, their 10-year-old daughter Jessica, and an 11-year-old houseguest, Christopher Hughes. Eight-year-old Joshua Ryen, although severely injured, survived the attack.

Cooper had just escaped from the nearby California Institution for Men at Chino when the murders occurred.

The former UPI reporter, Kristina Rebelo-Anderson, told a news conference she met a man in 1997 named Albert Anthony Ruiz who claimed to be a former San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy in hiding and that he had knowledge that deputies planted evidence.

Rebelo-Anderson -- accompanied by one of Cooper's lawyers, Greg L. Evans -- acknowledged that checks by San Bernardino County this week found no record that Ruiz had worked in law enforcement.

She said she came forward last week with the information because Cooper "had a date with the executioner" and still believes Ruiz has some information about the case.

Evans said that on Friday he would be presenting Rebelo-Anderson's statement to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and to the U.S. attorney's office.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department ran Albert Anthony Ruiz's name, Social Security number and date of birth through its records, and the search showed Ruiz never worked there, spokesman Chip Patterson told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Patterson said the department was disturbed by the "antics of anyone claiming to be associated with our department" and allegations its detectives planted evidence. The department was discussing the situation with the county district attorney's office, he said.

Reached by phone on Wednesday, Ruiz said he had no comment about what he told Rebelo-Anderson.

"I've got nothing to say," he said.

Cooper's San Bernardino County prosecutor John Kochis said he believes the bigger question is why Rebelo-Anderson never called him or any other law enforcement officials when she heard the evidence-planting allegations seven years ago.

"I never got a call from her ever saying she had information on the case. It's the first I've heard of it. I've been on the case since June 1983.