Chasing Justice: My Story of Freeing Myself After Two Decades on Death Row for a Crime I Didn't Commit (Hardcover)

~ Kerry Max Cook (Author)
Key Phrases: chasing justice, steel tomb, solid steel door, Doyle Wayne, Linda Jo Edwards, Smith County (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Despite some amateurish prose, this depressing account of an unfair criminal justice system that almost claimed the author's life deserves a wide readership alongside John Grisham's The Innocent Man. After being arrested in 1977 for a brutal mutilation murder in Tyler, Tex., that he did not commit, Cook, then 21 years old, was repeatedly railroaded by corrupt police officers, prosecutors and judges bent on ignoring all the rules to get him convicted. After his first trial, Cook ended up on death row and underwent a hellish ordeal behind bars; two subsequent trials ended in a mistrial and another conviction and death sentence. The subtitle notwithstanding, Cook's eventual freedom was largely due to a team of dedicated attorneys, working from the Capital Punishment Project or pro bono, who fought tooth-and-nail to obtain his freedom in the late 1990s. Readers familiar with similar travesties, such as the Randall Dale Adams case chronicled in Errol Morris's documentary The Thin Blue Line, will be outraged anew, especially at the authorities' deliberate disregard of another suspect, linked to the crime by an eyewitness and DNA evidence. (Feb. 27)
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Review

" Chasing Justice is captivating...It is going to break through political barriers and be a catalyst for reform. -- Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking

"A brutal but compelling account. . . . Amazing." -- William S. Sessions, former FBI Director and federal judge

"Cook’s story is so gripping that only a heart of steel won’t break after reading it." -- People

"I dare you to read this book. . . An inspiring human being." -- Richard Dreyfuss

"The incredible story of this enforced visit to hell and back is a modern day version of Dante and Kafka." -- Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law School

“Chasing Justice is captivating...It is going to break through political barriers and be a catalyst for reform. (Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking )

“Chasing Justice is an immensely compelling story that is hard to believe. If it were fiction, no one would believe it. But it’s not, and Kerry Cook’s account of his nightmare is fascinating.” (John Grisham )

“A brutal but compelling account. . . . Amazing.” (William S. Sessions, former FBI Director and federal judge )

“An inmate’s harrowing first-person account of a travesty of Texas jurisprudence.” (Kirkus Reviews )

“Cook’s story is so gripping that only a heart of steel won’t break after reading it.” (People )

“Deserves a wide readership alongside John Grisham’s The Innocent Man. (Publishers Weekly )

“I dare you to read this book. . . An inspiring human being.” (Richard Dreyfuss )

“Kafka-esque...That he survived is astounding; the circumstances that finally freed him...are nearly miraculous.” (Texas Monthly )

“The incredible story of this enforced visit to hell and back is a modern day version of Dante and Kafka.” (Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law School )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (February 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006057464X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060574642
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #717,219 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kerry Max Cook is a genius and his tale will change your life, February 28, 2007

By	Brian D. Paterson "-- BiP" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a must have book and one that you will recommend over and over. From the prologue you will be hooked. Kerry must be the only person on this earth who could have survived the torment he was faced with. All along Kerry never gave up. I now see that the seemingly insurmountable problems that 99.99% of us are faced with are so ridiculous to be considered impossible. May God be with you Kerry and may this book find its way into the leaders of the TX legal system and bring about the rest and restitution you deserve.
-BP

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you believe in Justice in our court system, read this...., March 16, 2007

By	V, Shaw "Free John Spirko" (Valley Center, KS) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

because you won't be a believer for long.

Kerry Max Cook tells us exactly how it is to be on death row in this country. He paints the picture of being wrongly convicted that chills one to the very core of their being.

If your pro death penalty... you won't be so sure of that belief after reading this.

One has to give this man KUDOS for enduring a 20+ year nightmare. As well as the attorney's that stuck by his side and believed in him and worked pro bono. It takes a hell of a belief system to get through what this man survived.

I recommend this book to everyone, pro or anti death penalty. It is very educational on our justice system, prosecutor misconduct, judges who are blind to "real justice" & Investigators who will stop at nothing to gain a conviction.

TRUST THE EVIDENCE, NEVER TRUST THE AUTHORITIES.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Justice?, March 15, 2007

By	Jim Sommers "J.S." (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews

Having just finished reading Chasing Justice I probably should be waiting a few days - or even months - to calm down a bit, but I'm finding that impossible. The anger I feel, not only for what the author somehow managed to endure for over 20 years, but how little has been done by the people of Texas to rid themselves of the continuing menace that infects their legal system makes me wonder what kind of a people we are, to continually put our heads in the sand, ignoring the continuing abuses perpetrated by the police, prosecutors, judges and politicians that are supposed to be serving us.

In one of Cook's final chapters he tells us what most of the main participants are doing today. Aside from a few that have died or retired, all police, prosecutors and judges are still doling out Texas-style justice. The person who all of the legitimate evidence points to as the real murderer is still free. Of course all of the residents of Death Row who were there with Cook have been executed. I realize that this thirst for blood is not just peculiar to Texas - much the rest of our nation isn't that much better - but one would think that if we're going to be handing out the ultimate punishment so frequently, even though it doesn't accomplish anything other than satisfying a savage hunger for revenge, it might be wise to make sure that we get it right and make sure that the innocent don't get flushed down with the guilty. One also has to wonder how the family of the murdered girl managed to go along with the charade all of this time, knowing full well that the wrong man was being persecuted.

It's also interesting that who should make an appearance in this Kafka-like saga other than George W. Bush himself. As Texas Governor between 1995 and 2000 one of the first things he did was to sign off on legislation to make it easier to execute those on Death Row by limiting the appeal process available to them, resulting in him signing off on over 150 executions in 5 years. How many of those men were innocent? Is this where he developed his officials-can-do-no-wrong attitude that he has ruled with since he came into power in 2001? In the case of Texas vs. Kerry Max Cook errors and incompetence led to lies and cover-ups which led to more lies as witnesses were coached into changing stories, forensic evidence misinterpreted and pages from witness accounts "lost." All this so officials in charge of the case wouldn't have to admit that they erred in the first place -something that they've refused to admit to this day. In the case of the Bush Administration vs. the U.S. - or perhaps it should be the World - errors and incompetence made after 9/11, accompanied by a huge dose of arrogance resulted in lies and cover-ups which have led us to where we are today. If those parallels aren't enough and we need more all we have to do is throw in a huge portion of a public that is willing to accept practically anything that is told to them because we must "trust our leaders."

Kerry Max Cook is an example of what a human being is capable of. He's managed to take those 20 years that were stolen from him and make them meaningful to all of us. He shouldn't be ignored.