Kevin Cooper (B.1958)
San Quentin Prison State Prison
San Quentin, California

"My piece Free Me was a message to my attorney, a reminder to him: Free me! I do believe I’m going to be free. I won’t be locked in this modern day plantation called San Quentin. The second piece, It’s a Generation Thing in America is about the different generations of black men that have been in prison. Here in San Quentin, you have a father and a son and a grandson, all in prison at the same time. We went from slavery to slavery by another name: prison labor. The little guy in the front, he’s wondering : ‘Is this what’s in store for me?’ Symbols is about America. Our history in America. My work is not just a reflection of my experiences on death row."

- Kevin Cooper

An inmate tells about the day he was taken for execution, and came back alive (Part 1)
Recorded on telephone, June 23, 2015
 
An inmate tells about the day he was taken for execution, and came back alive (Part 2)
Recorded on telephone, June 23, 2015
 
An inmate tells about the day he was taken for execution, and came back alive (Part 3)
Recorded on telephone, June 23, 2015
 

Visit Kevin Cooper's website here. Cooper was also featured as a part of the CNN series Death Row Stories.

In February 1985, Kevin Cooper was convicted of four counts of first degree murder - a couple and two kids - and one count of attempted murder (on a 8 year old). Cooper has continuously denied any involvement in the crime. He has lost and exhausted all his appeals.