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Parole denied to drink-driving, texting US bishop who killed cyclistTom Palermo (image courtesy Bikemore via Facebook)

Parole denied to drink-driving, texting US bishop who killed cyclist

Heather Cook was jailed for seven years in 2015 after causing death of Baltimore framebuilder Tom Palermo
by Simon_MacMichael
Sun, May 14, 2017 15:00
8

A former bishop who was imprisoned after she killed a cyclist while driving under the influence of alcohol has been refused parole.

> Seven years in jail for bishop who killed cyclist while driving drunk and texting

Heather Cook, who was the first female episcopal bishop in the state of Maryland, was also texting when she killed Baltimore framebuilder Tom Palermo in December 2014.

She only returned to the scene half an hour later and was found to be almost three times over the legal alcohol limit.

After pleading guilty to manslaughter, drink-driving and leaving the scene, she was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment, all but seven years of which was suspended.

The family of Mr Palermo, aged 41 and married with two children, had asked for her to be handed a custodial term of 10 years.

Under state law Cook was entitled to apply for parole, since 25 per cent of her sentence will have elapsed in July.

Last week, the Maryland Parole Commission refused her request, reports the Frederick News-Post.

The commission’s chairman, David Blumberg, said that her parole request was rejected in part because it was a second alcohol-related offence, and because Cook, who resigned her position as bishop in May 2015, had not apologised to Mr Palermo’s family and seemed to show no remorse.

“Also, she left the scene of the accident; the cyclist’s helmet was actually stuck in her windshield,” he added.

“When she went home she did not call 911 or emergency personnel, she made two calls, one to her boyfriend and one to a co-worker.

“She avoided answering the commissioners’ questions, and overall they felt she was definitely not worthy of a discretionary early release.”

However, when she was sentenced in October 2015, Cook did make remarks to Mr Palermo’s family in which she expressed regret for what had happened.

She said: “I am so sorry for the pain and agony I have caused.

“This is my fault and I accept complete responsibility.

“I think about you every day,” she added. “I often felt I didn’t deserve to be alive.”

Following the parole hearing on Tuesday the victim’s widow, Rachel Palermo, said: “If you still talk on your phone or text while driving, please put your phone down.

“If you plan to go out and drink, please set up a ride before you go. I want you to think of a 6- and an 8-year-old who wish their dad was still here. I want you to think of me and my pain. I want you to think of Tom’s parents and their loss. I want you to think of your own loved ones.”

Ahead of her appearance before the Maryland Parole Commission, cycling campaigners had urged commissioners to refuse her request for parole.

In an open letter, they wrote: “She made deliberate choices leading up to killing Tom.

“Her actions have negatively impacted our community in that cyclists are more fearful than they ought to be and we will likely continue to have troubles bringing new cyclists into our community as a result of Heather Cook’s actions.”

Cook’s earliest release date will now be some time in 2019, provided she earns time-off credits from her sentence.

Heather Cook
Tom Palermo
drink-driving
driving while texting
parole
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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8 comments

Avatar
garuda | 7 years ago
0 likes

This is America. You can kill anyone as long as you use a car. That she got sentenced at all is a minor surprise. It was probably leaving the scene that aggravated what would have been a minor fine and a few classes had she stayed at her crime scene.

Avatar
zanf | 7 years ago
1 like

Quote:

Cook was arraigned on more than a dozen charges—including manslaughter, DUI, and leaving the scene of an accident. At the arraignment hearing on April 2, 2015, she entered a plea of not guilty and a trial date was set for June 4, 2015.

Quote:

Cook requested early release in 2017. At a hearing on May 9, 2017 the parole board denied outright her request. The board cited her not taking responsibility for her actions nor showing any remorse as the reasons for ruling the way they did. As a result she is no longer eligible for parole and will be in prison until at least 2019. Her mandatory release date is now October 21, 2022.

FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:

There must be a story behind this, surely? If she was so intoxicated while driving this time, I can't believe it was a freak one-off. Seems to me it's likely she was in the habit of drinking and driving?

I remember the story at the time, and this link confirms it, that she had long term problems with alcohol. Has to be questioned whether shes ever allowed to hold a license again.

 

Avatar
alansmurphy | 7 years ago
4 likes

“I often felt I didn’t deserve to be alive.”

 

"Cook was entitled to apply for parole"

 

Say what now? You feel you don't deserve to live but do deserve release from prison just 2 years after killing somebody?!

 

Usually US law is better than ours, but why suspend 13 years of a sentence and then let them apply for parole 25% of the way through the custodial element - you deserve 20, we'll give you 7, shouldn't be much more than 18 months. Barmy!

Avatar
FluffyKittenofT... | 7 years ago
1 like

There must be a story behind this, surely?
If she was so intoxicated while driving this time, I can't believe it was a freak one-off. Seems to me it's likely she was in the habit of drinking and driving? A the very least she must have been a serious drinker who was also a frequent driver, a combination which doesn't bode well.

And if so, surely _someone_ must have noticed before, particularly if she's a Bishop! Can nobody in her church smell alcohol? What sort of church is it where a Bishop can have character traits like this and nobody notice?

(then again, one remembers the Catholic church and their little problem with overlooking priest behaviour...maybe that's just how churches operate?)

Avatar
StraelGuy | 7 years ago
0 likes

Not much higher. You lose about a unit per hour on average so half a unit is equivalent to approx. 1/4 pint of beer.

Avatar
brooksby | 7 years ago
0 likes

Quote:

She only returned to the scene half an hour later and was found to be almost three times over the legal alcohol limit.

What is the tailing-off rate for blood alcohol?  If she was measured at three times the limit half an hour after the event - when she decided to return to the scene - then how much higher would her blood alcohol have been when the collision took place?

Avatar
Beatnik69 | 7 years ago
3 likes

Seeing that photograph in the context of what happened is heartbreaking. It should bepasted on her cell wall so that she has to see it every day.

Avatar
severs1966 | 7 years ago
3 likes

"when she was sentenced [...] she expressed regret."

No regret until she was made to pay for crimes. Didn't care at all, didn't regret at all, at the time, when arrested, when taken to court. Only when sentenced.

A driver who is happy to kill vulnerable people, until she is punished.

 

Being a christian bishop, she possibly imagines that if she tells people that she is sorry, she becomes entitled to forgiveness?

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