Jesse Jackson Arrested

By Stephen M. Silverman

10/03/1997 at 12:00 AM EDT

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, 59, was arrested, along with about two dozen other demonstrators, last night outside an Oklahoma City prison, reports the Associated Press. They were protesting today's scheduled execution of Wanda Jean Allen, 41, an African-American woman convicted for the 1988 fatal shooting of her lover. Jackson's attorney, Tracy Rights, said the civil rights advocate planned to remain behind bars overnight before witnessing Allen's death, per her request.