The Trouble with Innocence Article Analysis

Kerry Max Cook has come into the limelight subsequent to being found guilty and sentenced to life in 1978 for one of the most notorious and gruesome killings in East Texas County. Cook was convicted in the grisly and horrific killing of Linda Jo Edwards, a young 22-year-old girl that was found in her apartment room having been trodden, knifed and mutilated. The thesis of the article indicates the difficulty of proving and maintaining innocence.

This is linked to the fact that even after being released from death row, Cook continues to maintain his innocence and is seeking a full and comprehensive exoneration. However, the difficulty of attaining innocence continues to be a daunting task with prosecutors going on with opposition of Cook's claims of actual innocence that would permit him to obtain compensation for the two years spent while on death row. There are distinctive lessons that can be learnt from the article.

One of the key perceptive lessons learnt from the article is that the investigative work undertaken by the Tyler police department was sloppy and shoddy. At the time of Cook's arrest and conviction in 1978, the police department insisted that it was as a result of a comprehensive and thorough investigation. Imperatively, however, the police investigation into the murder of Linda Edwards up to date did not adhere to a set of generally accepted police practices.

To begin with, it can be noted that the murder case of Edwards prevailed for three months devoid of any arrest being made. In this course of time, the detectives within the Tyler police department did not follow a number of prospective clues, did not take action or tackle the different tips that were given and all the more failed to undertake interviews of the several individuals that may have offered information regarding the victim and conceivable suspects.

This delineates the magnitude of substandard investigative work that was conducted by the police. Secondly, it is perceptible from the article that investigation of the scene of the crime at Edwards' apartment was substantially inadequate and lacking to the extent that the detectives failed to discover one of the key weapons or tools used during the murder, a 10-inch knife that all along was placed by the murderer in the closet, a few steps from her body. This was later discovered by the roommate's father.

Taking these aspects into consideration, it can be learnt that the investigative work into the crime was sloppily done. Subsequent investigations and poking of holes into the case has revealed several wrongdoings, conceivable indecencies, and unresolved questions regarding the case made against Cook. Another distinctive lesson is that Cook was not treated fairly. In accordance to the law, one is innocent until proven guilty. In the same manner, it is said that justice delayed is justice denied.

Cook is currently 60 years old and is yet to receive complete justice that is within his own civil right and liberty. Under no standard or benchmark was Kerry Cook treated with fairness and equity. Moreover, psychologist Landrum gave testimony asserting that Cook was an austere psychopath and a deviant pan sexual. In addition, he insisted that Cook was an enormously severe threat to others. In particular, it is this testimony that led to the sentencing of Cook to death row.

In addition, the prosecution insisted on showing the photos of the crime scene and the victim. Coupled together, these aspects painted a severely negative perspective of Cook that ultimately gave rise to the ruling. However, this was unfair to Cook. To begin with, the psychiatrist that interviewed him and attested to him being a severe threat, actually never read Cook his rights. Moreover, the prognosis of Cook in 1973 and 1976 were that he was without psychosis and thus a good prognosis. However, Landrum gave the opposite testimony.

Moreover, the prospection were quick to abandon Mayfield as a suspect in the murder yet he had a relationship with him that had somewhat turned bitter and had actually had sex with the victims the same day of the murder.

From this standpoint, it can be said that it is long overdue for the state of Texas made the admittance that at the end of the day, it captured the wrong individual and that it convicted the wrong person on several occasion and more so sought the death penalty against the wrong person recurrently. Without a doubt, Kerry Cook has extensively endured suffering. However, with his exoneration and full innocence possibly imminent, it can be stated that no matter how long it takes, justice does prevail.

The third lesson learnt from the article is that there was significant police misconduct during the whole period of convicting Cook. In fact an appeals court eventually found that the legal prosecutors leading the line in convicting Cook had taken part in prevalent and egregious misconduct.

One of the important transgressions encompasses the prosecutors withholding proof and also engaging in the misrepresentation of a deal that they had made with a snitch at the Tyler jailhouse, who well along self-confessed and by his own admission proclaimed to have lied when he asserted that Cook confessed to him. In addition, Mayfield who was connected to Edwards through a sexual relationship despite having been married, was not taken into consideration by the prosecutors as a prospective suspect.

In addition, the police did not search his cars, home or even the apartment they stayed in with the victim. In addition, they failed to question his workmates yet they had plenty to say. Most of all, they failed to pursue that because Mayfield had taken a private polygraph. The police failed to consider and follow other promising and interesting leads, for instance an acquaintance and coworker of Mayfield's, as well as psychology professor Frederick Mears, a specialist in polygraphs who called the police department a.