Judge: Man Cleared of Murder Shouldn’t Be Declared Innocent

TYLER (AP) – A judge says a former Texas death row inmate shouldn’t be formally declared innocent of murder even though his conviction has been overturned after a witness admitted lying on the stand. Kerry Max Cook was twice convicted in the 1977 slaying of Linda Jo Edwards in Tyler, about 100 miles east of Dallas. He was freed in 1999 after taking a deal to plead no contest, but has maintained his innocence. State District Judge Jack Carter agreed in June that Cook’s conviction should be set aside. But in an order issued Monday, Carter said there wasn’t enough evidence to say “unquestionably” that Cook did not kill Edwards. He said Cook should not be declared “actually innocent,” a distinction that would entitle Cook to millions in compensation for the wrongfully convicted.