Execution of repeat burglar set
Posted on 03/11/2003 5:39:38 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Execution of repeat burglar set
03/11/2003
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Death row inmate Bobby Glen Cook admits to being a thief but insisted he was no killer.
"I've never been violent," says Cook, 41, condemned for the 1993 shooting death of an East Texas fisherman. "Just thefts."
Cook, with an extensive criminal record, faced lethal injection Tuesday night for the murder of Edwin Earl Holder, 42, of Buffalo.
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At the time of the slaying, Cook had five convictions -- three for burglary and two for theft -- had been to prison four times and was paroled four times, committing another crime each time while on parole.
"To his credit, his criminal history was nonviolent, but as debate rages about nonviolent offenders being excellent candidates for release, the human factor always needs to be taken into consideration," said Gerald Garrett, chairman of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.
The board Monday voted 18-0, refusing to commute the Corsicana man's death sentence and refusing to halt the execution, the 10th this year in Texas and the 299th since the state resumed carrying out capital punishment in 1982.
Delma Banks, scheduled to die Wednesday night for a 1980 slaying near Texarkana, would be No. 300 in Texas, which accounts for more than one-third of all executions in the United States since the Supreme Court in 1976 allowed the death penalty to resume.
The high court late last year rejected Cook's request to review his case, and he had placed his hopes in a clemency appeal before the parole board.
"That's like a hay bale thrown into the wind of a hurricane," he said of his prospects.
"He's just an interesting case, in the theoretic mode," Garrett said Monday. "The premise seems to be out there that nonviolent offenders don't pose a threat.
"While we want to move forward and give the nonviolent offender the benefit of the doubt, one should move forward with proper degree of caution, and I think this very much dramatizes that."
Holder failed to return from a fishing trip on the Trinity River and his body was found inside a sleeping bag in the bed of his pickup truck, partially submerged in the river near Cayuga in Anderson County, about 75 miles southeast of Dallas. He had been shot six times in the head.
Holder's boat also was sunk, but the motor and a couple of lanterns were missing along with his wallet and $21.
Cook and two companions, Stephen Ray Cockroft and Robin Jenkins, both of Dawson, were arrested a few days later at Cockroft's home after a witness described Cockroft's truck leaving the area where Holder's body was found. Cockroft was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life. Jenkins testified against Cook and received a 15-year term.
Cook, who said his lawyers urged him not to testify at his trial, called the trial "a shambles."
"It was self-defense," Cook said, describing the Holder shooting from a closet-like cage in the visiting area of death row. "The dude pulled a gun on me. It clicked twice.
"I just grabbed toward the gun and got it. ... He started coming and then I shot. I thought he was shot three times and he fell."
Cook said everyone, including Holder, was drunk and had been drinking all day Feb. 5, 1993.
"After he got shot, like I got sober," Cook said. "It's haunted me ever since. There's nothing I could do about it. I'm sorry it happened. If the gun hadn't misfired, I'd be dead."
He said he threw the .22-caliber chrome-plated pistol into the river. It never was found.
As for the $21, "I think I spent it on gas," he said.
Prosecutors contended Holder was asleep when he was shot with his own gun, noting the wounds to his head were in a close pattern, fired no more than three feet away, and that there was no sign of a struggle.
Cook blamed his burglary sprees on a need for money to support a methamphetamine habit.
"At that time, and with those drugs, you didn't care," he said. "I wish this never happened. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time."
There was not a single word on behalf of the Bowie County DA, nothing from the family of the 16-year-old boy who had been shot twice in the head just so Banks could have a set of wheels for a drive to Dallas.
In fact, I accidentally stumbled across a TV broadcast of the hurlfest, "Democracy Now!" where people like his mother and a NAALCP rep was wanting Governor Perry to step in and grant a stay (which he cannot do without the permission of the Texas State Board of Pardons and Paroles, and they have already given the green light to Banks' execution), based on everything from innocence claims to racism.
It was a good thing I had not yet eaten or I would have been worshipping the porcelain god by then.
Let's hurry and take this guy out of the gene pool. I have grown tired hearing about his remorseless murdering aft already.
Pay no attention to the corpse in the middle of the room. The man with the gun is a harmless noble burglar. Like Robin Hood.
Pay no attention to the corpse in the middle of the room. The man with the gun is a harmless noble burglar. Like Robin Hood.
LOL !
| Date of scheduled execution | State | Victim name | Inmate name | Status |
| March 11, 2003 | Texas | Edwin Earl Holder, 42 | Bobby Cook | pending |
| A 40-year-old Corsicana man convicted of murdering a Buffalo man almost 10 years ago near the Trinity River is scheduled to be executed on March 11, 2003. Bobby Glen Cook, 40, of Corsicana is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Feb. 5, 2003 for the February 1993 shooting death of Edwin Earl Holder, 42, of Buffalo. An execution date was set by 369th State District Judge Bascom W. Bentley III. On the morning of Feb. 8, 1993, a passerby saw what he thought was a boat submerged off the east bank of the Trinity River near a gas station in Cayuga, Texas. On closer inspection, he realized it was actually a blue truck, partially submerged in the water. The man poked at what appeared to be a sleeping bag and insulated underwear in the bed of the truck, and uncovered an arm and part of a shoulder. The rest of the body was submerged under water. The Anderson County Sheriff's Department pulled the truck from the river and discovered the body of 42-year-old Edwin Earl Holder. Officers saw what appeared to be blood on the back bumper of the truck and splattered on the inside of the tailgate. The truck was in first gear, the ignition was on, and the windows were rolled up. The medical examiner concluded that Holder died of six gunshot wounds to the head. The shots had been fired in rapid succession, from three feet or closer to Holder's head. One bullet entered and exited the forehead, but the remaining five .22-caliber bullets remained lodged in Holder's brain, any one of which would have been fatal. The close pattern of the wounds suggested that Holder was asleep in his sleeping bag when he was shot, and no struggle had occurred. Holder had left his home on the morning of Feb. 5, 1993, to go fishing at the Trinity River Bridge. He took with him his blue Dodge truck packed with camping equipment, fishing gear and his boat. Holder's co-worker saw Holder's truck and boat trailer parked at the bridge by Baker's Landing around 2:30 p.m. that day. While the witness did not see Holder or his boat, he did see a red pickup truck and two white males building a camp fire. Holder had been reported missing by his wife the previous day after failing to meet a friend for a fishing/camping trip. Upon investigation of Baker's Landing, the police discovered evidence that Holder had been camping there, and found dirt that appeared to be mixed with blood. The .22-caliber bullets that killed Holder were consistent with the type of gun Holder usually carried with him on his fishing trips; however, no weapons were found in Holder's truck or at Baker's Landing, nor was Holder's wallet. A boat matching the description of Holder's was later found on the Trinity River, south of where Holder's truck was found. Several holes had been punched into the bottom of the boat, which had caused it to partially sink. An employee from the gas station near where Holder's body was found, told the police that on Feb. 6, 1993, around 3:00 a.m., he heard a loud muffler. From the door, he could see the tail lights of one vehicle as well as a red and white truck with a loud exhaust system, parked about 60 to 75 yards from the river. The gas station employee informed the driver of the red truck that he was on private property. The driver told him that he was having problems with his truck, however, the driver appeared nervous and would not look at the man. After speaking with four men who were at the river on Feb. 6, 1993, the police obtained a composite drawing of two suspects and a description of a red and white Chevrolet pickup truck. Based on the composite drawing and the description of the truck, the police went to the residence of Robin Jenkins and Steven Cockroft, where they discovered a red and white pickup truck. On Feb. 9, 1993, officers obtained a statement from Jenkins and Cockroft, implicating Cook in the murder. Cook was later arrested at Jenkins and Cockroft's residence. A search of the residence uncovered items belonging to Holder. On Feb. 10, 1993, Cook gave a voluntary statement in which he admitted that he, Jenkins and Cockroft were at the bridge at the same time as Holder. Cook claimed that he was helping Holder check his fishing lines, but he became frightened by Holder's behavior because Holder was drinking and waiving a gun around. Cook claimed that at one point, Holder reached for his gun and Cook attempted to grab it and pull it away but the gun went off two or three times. Cook admitted disposing of some of Holder's belongings while keeping others. Judge Bentley set Cook’s execution date after the U.S. Supreme Court denied the defendant’s writ for certiorari. Anderson County District Attorney Doug Lowe, who was not in office when Cook was convicted in 1994, sounded confident the execution would proceed as planned in February. “Based on my experience, I think Mr. Cook is going to get what he deserves on that date,” Lowe said. “I don’t think anybody can do anything for him. I think what it shows is our system works,” he continued. “It works slowly. The defendant had the benefit of a lot of good lawyers. He got what he needed to get.” During a 1994 trial, then-Anderson County District Attorney Jeff Herrington told the nine-man, three-woman jury that Cook shot and killed Holder for $21 and fishing equipment that was to be split with an accomplice. Cook, a ninth-grade dropout with an extensive criminal past, shot Holder with the victim’s own .22-caliber handgun while the man was asleep in a sleeping bag, the state argued during the trial. The accomplice, Stephen Ray Cockroft, now 37, of Dawson was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of capital murder in November 1994 in Anderson County. A third defendant, Robin Elaine French Jenkins, 31, of Dawson testified against Cook in exchange for a 15-year sentence on the lesser charge of robbery. Previously, Cook had served 8 months of a 6 year sentence in 1987 for burglary of a vehicle. He was back in prison within six months after receiving a 5 year sentence for theft, and was again paroled in only 4 months. Cook went back to prison again less than a year later with a 10 year sentence for drugs and burglary convictions for which he served less than a year. Then one year later, in 1991, returned to prison with an 8 year sentence for theft and served only 6 months. He had been on parole for less than a year when Holder was murdered. | ||||
Cook blamed his burglary sprees on a need for money to support a methamphetamine habit.
"At that time, and with those drugs, you didn't care," he said. "I wish this never happened."
03/12/2003
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - A convicted burglar and thief paroled from prison numerous times apologized and then was executed Tuesday for robbing and fatally shooting a sleeping East Texas fisherman 10 years ago.
In a brief statement, Bobby Glen Cook said he would like to tell his victim's family that he knows "they've got grief and I know with this execution it will not be any relief to them. With my death, it will just remind them of their loved one." None of the victim's relatives were there to witness the execution.
Cook asked for forgiveness and repeated his assertion that the shooting was in self-defense.
"I was never able to get up on the stand to tell them," he continued, his voice choking with emotion. "I know this is wrong, but I'm going home to the Lord."
He gasped slightly as the drugs began taking effect. Eight minutes later, at 6:20 p.m., he was pronounced dead.
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Cook, 41, of Corsicana, had been free for 10 months on his fourth parole when he was arrested for the slaying of Edwin Earl Holder, 42, of Buffalo.
Cook was the 10th Texas prisoner executed this year and the 299th since the state resumed carrying out capital punishment in 1982. Another inmate, Delma Banks, was set to become No. 300 Wednesday night.
Cook's appeals were exhausted.
But Banks, 44, convicted 23 years ago of fatally shooting a Texarkana-area youth and stealing his car, had an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court that questioned his trial lawyer's competence, the testimony of two prosecution witnesses and the racial makeup of his jury. His appeal, being pushed by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and a Washington, D.C.-based organization called The Justice Project, additionally was supported by three former federal judges, including William Sessions, a former FBI director.
In the Cook case, the former painter, heavy equipment operator and concrete truck driver admitted being a thief but said he was no killer.
"I've never been violent," he said in a recent interview. "Just thefts."
At the time of the slaying, Cook had five convictions - three for burglary and two for theft - had been to prison four times and was paroled four times, committing another crime each time while on parole.
"When people are speaking of the mythical nonviolent offender who can be released with no adverse consequence, one has to at least think there may be a Bobby Cook among those nonviolent offenders," Gerald Garrett, chairman of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, said. "His record was really amazing to look at, the number of opportunities he was afforded to get his life together before ultimately going down a path of extreme violence."
AP Bobby Glen Cook |
"Our argument was he was a repeat offender and he continued to victimize individuals," Pamela Foster Fletcher, one of the prosecutors at Cook's capital murder trial, said Tuesday. "The system isn't perfect but it's best system we have."
Holder failed to return from a fishing trip on the Trinity River and his body was found Feb. 8, 1993 inside a sleeping bag in the bed of his pickup truck, partially submerged in the river near Cayuga in Anderson County, about 75 miles southeast of Dallas. He had been shot six times in the head.
Holder's boat also was sunk, but the motor and a couple of lanterns were missing along with his wallet and $21.
Cook and two companions, Stephen Ray Cockroft and Robin Jenkins, both of Dawson, were arrested a few days later at Cockroft's home after a witness described Cockroft's truck leaving the area where Holder's body was found. Cockroft was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life. Jenkins testified against Cook and received a 15-year term.
"It was self-defense," Cook said, describing the shooting from a closet-like cage in the visiting area of death row. "The dude pulled a gun on me."
Cook said the .22-caliber chrome-plated pistol misfired and he grabbed it, then fired at Holder.
"If the gun hadn't misfired, I'd be dead," he said.
Fletcher called the slaying senseless, said there was no evidence to support Cook's version of events and that evidence instead pointed to Holder being asleep in his sleeping bag when he was shot. Wounds to his head were in a close pattern, fired no more than three feet away, and there was no sign of a struggle.
"I think the punishment fits the crime and his past history," she said.
Cook said he threw the .22-caliber chrome-plated pistol into the river. It never was found. As for the $21, "I think I spent it on gas," he said.
Cook blamed his burglary sprees on a need for money to support a methamphetamine habit.
"At that time, and with those drugs, you didn't care," he said. "I wish this never happened."
Number 300 is on board tonight. I see an article on it and will post it and ping to you shortly . . .
Repeat burglar 299th inmate executed in Texas
03/12/2003
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - A convicted burglar and thief paroled from prison numerous times apologized and then was executed Tuesday for robbing and fatally shooting a sleeping East Texas fisherman 10 years ago.
In a brief statement, Bobby Glen Cook said he would like to tell his victim's family that he knows "they've got grief and I know with this execution it will not be any relief to them. With my death, it will just remind them of their loved one." None of the victim's relatives were there to witness the execution.
In a brief statement, Bobby Glen Cook said he would like to tell his victim's family that he knows "they've got grief and I know with this execution it will not be any relief to them. With my death, it will just remind them of their loved one." None of the victim's relatives were there to witness the execution.
If this POS gave a damn about this man's family, he wouldn't have killed the man.
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