Crime & Safety
No Parole For Bishop Who Killed Cyclist: Report
The defrocked bishop who killed a bicyclist when she was drunk driving must serve her full sentence, sources say.
JESSUP, MD — Defrocked Episcopal bishop Heather Cook was reportedly denied parole during a hearing Tuesday at the Maryland Correctional Institute for Women in Jessup.
Cook, 60, is serving a seven-year sentence for killing a cyclist in Baltimore in December 2014. She pleaded guilty in 2015 to vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated, leaving the scene of an accident and texting while driving in the death of bicyclist Thomas Palermo.
Since vehicular manslaughter is considered a "non-violent" crime by the state, Cook was eligible for parole upon serving 25 percent of the sentence, according to Gerard Shields, spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. That meant she could have been released in July at the earliest.
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The parole commission ordered Cook to serve her full sentence, citing her fleeing the scene, repeat drunk driving and lack of remorse as factors in its decision to deny parole, according to WJZ.
It was not the first brush with the law for the former bishop. In 2010, Cook was charged with multiple offenses including possession of marijuana and DUI, receiving probation before judgment and a $300 fine. Police in Caroline County brought those charges after an officer pulled Cook over on a traffic stop; there was no crash or injury involved.
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She went on to become the first female bishop in Maryland. After being inducted in May 2014, Cook resigned in May 2015 amid controversy over the deadly hit and run.
Leading up to the parole hearing, cyclists undertook a letter writing campaign alerting the commission to their concern.
"Eighteen months is just not long enough - this was not an accident, and the message sent to our community if she is paroled now will be that there are not severe enough consequences when you kill one of us when flagrantly violating the law and human decency," according to a letter that Bike Maryland encouraged its supporters to sign.
Cook will remain in jail until at least 2019, according to WBAL, which reported her release at that time was contingent on good behavior. She will also be on probation.
Photo Credit: Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.
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