Defrocked Episcopal Bishop Heather Cook Could Face 10 Years in Plea Bargain

By Mary Ann Mueller
Virtue Online
September 9, 2015

http://www.virtueonline.org/defrocked-episcopal-bishop-heather-cook-could-face-10-years-plea-bargain


Former Episcopal Bishop Heather Cook was grayer and looked 10 years older as she pleaded guilty in Baltimore City Circuit Court, Tuesday (Sept. 8), a ploy which would bring to an end the legal rollercoaster ride, which started on Dec. 27, 2014, when the intoxicated bishop hit bicyclist Thomas Palermo in North Baltimore bike lane and killed him. While in court, Cook admitted to vehicular manslaughter, drunk driving, texting while driving, as well as leaving the scene of an accident.

As a result of a carefully crafted plea bargain between the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office and Cook's legal team, -- headed by Towson, Maryland, criminal defense attorney David Irwin, -- the defrocked bishop could be facing as much as 10 years behind bars for her crime, coupled with five years probation after she gets out.

The prosecution, handled by Assistant Baltimore City State's Attorney Kurt Bjorklund, is asking for 20 years but will suspend half of it.

Associate Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Timothy Doory said he would sentence Cook on October 27. When the late October sentencing date rolls around, he indicated he would not sentence the former bishop to any more time than prosecutors are seeking. He does have the discretion to lessen her time behind bars.

Saturday afternoon accident

The chain of events, which lead to Cook's eventual disgrace, defrocking, and criminal plea bargaining, began on a sunny winter Saturday afternoon two days after Christmas (Dec. 27, 2014) in North Baltimore. Heather Cook, then the Diocese of Maryland's newly minted suffragan, was heading back to her old stomping grounds on Maryland's Eastern Shore for a post-Christmas break. She had been drinking and was just a few blocks from her Baltimore apartment as she headed out of town along Roland Avenue. Through her plea bargain, she admitted to texting while driving her green 2001 Subaru when she strayed into the southbound bicycle lane and struck Thomas Palermo, a 41-year-old husband and father of two youngsters. The impact killed him.

Stunned, Bishop Cook left the scene of the fatal car-bike accident, turned around to drive past the site as she went back to her Elkridge Estates apartment. She ultimately returned more than half an hour later. By that time, police were on the scene. When the police eventually gave her a Breathalyzer test, she blew a .22. The legal limit in Maryland is .08.

"No one is above the law"

On Jan. 8, 2015, Marilyn Mosby became the new Baltimore City State's Attorney. Her first order of business was the Palermo hit-and-run as she set her sights on making sure Heather Cook wasn't above the law.

"This is a very tragic incident and I think that this is evident that we are going to apply justice fairly and equality to everybody across the board," Ms. Mosby said as she announced Cook's traffic and criminal charges at a Jan. 9 press conference. "We are going to pursue justice and we will treat Miss Heather Cook the same way we would anyone else ... no one is above the law."

The new state's attorney originally slapped eight various criminal and traffic charges against the beleaguered bishop including: vehicular manslaughter; driving under the influence of alcohol; leaving the scene of a fatal accident and texting while driving resulting in an accident. An arrest warrant was issued and before nightfall Heather Cook was behind bars at the Baltimore City Women's Detention Center. Her bail was set at $2.5 million.

By Jan. 15, orthopedic surgeon Dr. William Pierson Cook IV helped arrange her $2.5 million bail. Following her release from jail, Cook returned to Father Martin's Ashley, an in-patient treatment center for alcoholism, drug addiction, and chemical dependency in Havre de Grace, Maryland, for intense therapy. Cook's' attorney says she has not had a drink since the day of the accident and is still dealing with her alcoholism.

On Feb. 4, the Baltimore City Grand Jury piled on additional charges and formally indicted Bishop Cook on 13 various criminal and traffic charges. In April she was arraigned and her initial trial date was set for June 4.

First brush with the law

The December 2014 drunken hit-and-run incident was not the first time Heather Cook had been arrested for drunken driving. The Caroline County (Maryland) Sherriff's Department nabbed her on September 2010. She was charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol, reckless driving, negligent driving, and for having marijuana and drug paraphernalia in her possession. She had a blood-alcohol content of 0.27. It was reported that she was so drunk she could not stand up.

Her case was heard on Oct. 25, 2010. Cook received probation before judgment, was ordered to pay $357.50 in fine and court costs, and undergo alcohol and drug evaluation and treatment. The marijuana possession and paraphernalia charges were dropped. However, the judge did read her the Riot Act.

TEC Woes

Bishop Heather Cook not only had legal problems, she also had ecclesial problems. As soon as Bishop Eugene Sutton (XIV Maryland) learned of the Palermo accident, he put his bishop suffragan on paid administrative leave. The Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori also weighed in.

As the New Year dawned the Office of the Presiding Bishop launched a Title IV disciplinary investigation. First Cook's ministry is restricted and she was "forbidden from presenting herself as an ordained person in good standing with the church." The Presiding Bishop and the Episcopal Church Executive Council that met near Baltimore snubbed Cook. No attempts were made to visit or minister to Heather Cook while she was jailed and the Executive Council was in town.

The Diocese of Maryland Standing Committee asked Cook to resign as bishop suffragan in the "best interests of the church and its people," and to give up her $120,000-plus yearly salary and benefits.

By May 1, the Title IV process had run its course. Bishop Cook was stripped of all Holy Orders -- deacon, priest and bishop. " She also left the employment of the Diocese of Maryland.

Woman Bishop

Heather Cook was the 21st female to be consecrated an Episcopal bishop, a position she held for only seven months. She was consecrated on Sept. 6, 2014.

The media focused on the fact that Cook was an Episcopal woman bishop and the first woman bishop suffragan for the Diocese of Maryland and, as such, the second ranking official of the diocese. That combination of facts generated much media interest and worldwide headlines thus giving the hit-and-run story extra life.

The ever developing Heather Cook story stayed on Page One for weeks in Baltimore until April 19, 2015, when it was replaced by the more gripping news of Freddie Gray, a black Baltimorean, having died while in police custody. As a result, six Baltimore City Police officers were brought up on charges and the city erupted into violence and riots. City residents quickly lost interest in Heather Cook; her story was kicked off of the front page and, for the most part, out of the news unless there was some sort of court action.

General Convention

Although Cook was no longer generating front page interest in Baltimore, her persona was very much present in Salt Lake City, even though she was not attending the Episcopal General Convention.

Convention wrestled with the "Episcopal drinking problem." Several bishops admitted to being alcoholics including Bishop Mark Hollingsworth (XI Ohio) the chair of the Legislative Committee on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and Bishop Chilton Knudsen, who is slated to fill Cook's slot as Maryland's assistant bishop later this fall. Retired Vicky Gene Robinson (IX New Hampshire) is also a recovering alcoholic.

It was reported that Cook's drunk driving hit-and-run, which resulted in a death, was the catalyst needed to make The Episcopal Church take a "hard look" at the Episcopal Church drinking culture.

Bishop Sutton also reported that Bishop-elect Cook was inebriated at a private pre-consecration dinner. A fact he later reported to the Presiding Bishop. Neither he nor the Presiding Bishop stepped in to stop the consecration from going forward, when they could have.

The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, too, has made adjustments to its entertainment policies. The diocese's new guidelines will continue to allow alcoholic drinks at church-sponsored activities, but they will not be advertised and non-alcoholic beverages must be made available.

Busy news day

The first hint that there may be a plea bargain came in June when Cook's initial trail date was postponed until September 9. At that time it was speculated that a plea bargain was in the works.

Last week it was learned that the Sept. 9 trial date was bumped back one day to Sept. 8, another indication that a plea bargain was possibly in the works. The plea bargain was revealed in court on Tuesday.

Tuesday was a busy news day, both in Baltimore and elsewhere from the religious side. In addition to Cook's plea bargain, the Baltimore media also learned that the City of Baltimore had signed a $6.4 million civil settlement stemming from the Freddie Gray death. In Kentucky, Clerk of Court Kim Davis was released from jail after spending six days behind bars for failing to issue same-sex marriage licenses in Rowan County as an act of conscience. Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who helped lead a pro-marriage rally in her support, also met with her.

Following Cook's Tuesday court appearance, her attorney told reporters: "My client -- as I have said before -- and all of us cannot express in words the sadness that we feel for the Palermo family. It was a tragedy. There are no winners in this case. There are only losers."

The Palermo family doesn't seem pleased with the plea bargain. In a statement, they said they would "advocate for the maximum penalty allowed under law."

If Cook had gone to trial and found guilty of all charges, she would have faced upwards to 39 years in prison. The plea bargain slices that in half; with10 years suspended, it's cut in half again.

"It's time for us as a community to send a strong message that we will not tolerate drivers who text on their smart phones, or drive while intoxicated," the Palermo family statement said. "The next victim could be your parents, your child, your friend -- even you."

Irwin said that the State's Attorney's recommendation of 10 years behind bars was "a very heavy one," and that Cook was not looking forward to prison.

In a statement to the Associated Press, the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland responded to Tuesday's court action: "At the outset of the Heather Cook matter, Bishop Eugene Sutton, the Episcopal Bishop of Maryland, said our diocese would be guided by the principles of accountability, compassion, and respect for the rule of law. We continue to abide by those principles."

A white bicycle is latched to a pole in the 5700 block of Roland Avenue as a permanent reminder of the hit-and-run accident that snuffed out the life of Thomas Palermo and forever changed the life of Heather Cook.

Cook is still free on $2.5 million bail until her sentencing date on Oct. 27. The Maryland Correctional Institution for Women is located in Jessup, Maryland, and houses 800 inmates.