Man Freed in Tyler Stabbing Wants DNA Testing

TYLER (AP/Staff) – A man who served 22 years for the murder of a Tyler woman before being freed is calling for new testing of DNA in the case. Kerry Max Cook was twice sentenced to death for the 1977 rape and murder of 21-year-old Linda Jo Edwards. Courts overturned both convictions. In 1999, Cook agreed to plead no contest without admitting guilt to the murder in exchange for a sentence of time served. Now, Cook’s attorneys want new testing of DNA evidence that they say will prove his innocence. They also want Judge Jack Skeen Jr., who prosecuted Cook in the 1990s, to recuse himself now that he supervises the court handling the case. Another of the former prosecutors says he thinks Cook is guilty but should be allowed the tests.