TYLER, Texas — Vanessa Curry is a journalist who has been covering the 1977 Kerry Cook murder trial for more than three decades.
"The wait is over. In a way. And I thought about that yesterday when I found out the news I was like, I didn’t know how to feel and finally I felt relieved," Author and Journalist Vanessa Curry said.
Curry is writing a book about the case that will be published next month.
"If prosecutors aren’t going to do their job and do it correctly, fairly and honestly, this is what happens in a case. It is drawn out, ruined lives and caused major issues," Curry said.
On Wednesday, the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals found Kerry Max Cook innocent of a 1977 Tyler murder. The court cited evidence of prosecutorial misconduct. Cook spent twenty years on death row for a murder he did not commit.
Defense attorney Thad Davidson is not related to this case but has been following it closely and he says justice was finally served.
"This does not happen hardly ever. They not only exonerated him but the CCA, court of criminal appeals declared him innocent, factually and criminally innocent," Davidson said.