Members of California's Catholic community are mobilizing to fight the Feb. 10 execution of a man they say may have been unjustly convicted of the murder of a San Bernardino family.

On February 3, California People of Faith Working Against the Death Penalty held a protest in response to Gov. Arnold Schwarznegger's Jan. 30 denial of clemency to Kevin Cooper, convicted of multiple murders in 1983.

Held at St. Monica Church in Santa Monica, the home parish of Gov. Schwarzenegger, speakers against the death penalty included Bishop Gabino Zavala, Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet sister Suzanne Jabro and actor Mike Farrell.

Bishop Zavala, who offered his sympathy to the victims and their families, called on Gov. Schwarzenegger to stand in his Catholic faith and issue a stay of execution for Cooper.

"Governor Schwarzenegger, we call on your conscience and on your faith: Do not kill Kevin Cooper. The death penalty is wrong. Killing Kevin Cooper does not make anyone safer, and does not bring 'closure' to the victims' families. Further, our common Catholic faith in Jesus commands us to 'lay down our stones,' to stop the cycle of violence and pursue healing and peace."

In a written statement released Jan. 30 Schwarzenegger said, "I have carefully weighed the claims presented in Kevin Cooper's plea for clemency. The state and federal courts have reviewed this case for more than 18 years. 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."

Kevin Cooper, 46, was convicted and sentenced to die for the 1983 murders of three members of the Ryen family and a young houseguest. Eight-year-old Josh Ryen had his throat cut but survived the massacre. He told police that the attackers were three white or Hispanic men. But the local police arrested and built a case against Cooper, a dark-skinned black man who had recently escaped from a minimum security prison where he was serving a sentence for a non-violent crime.

Cooper's defense attorneys say that evidence in the case was destroyed and mishandled including DNA evidence that they claim may have been altered. They point to authorities refusal to allow further testing of blond hair that was found in one of the victims' hands as proof of evidence tampering.

But authorities are standing by the evidence chain saying that recent DNA tests link four pieces of evidence to Cooper and the crime.

For information on protests and vigils leading up to the Feb. 10 execution date contact California People of Faith Working Against the death Penalty at (213) 637-7402 or visit their website at http://dentention.la-archdiocese.org/penalty.html.