TEXAS LAST MEAL
BOBBY GLEN COOK
March 11, 2003

Cooked...

LAST MEAL: a double meat cheeseburger, jalapenos and trimmings on the side, vanilla malt, french fries, onion rings, ketchup, picante sauce (hot), vanilla ice cream, 2 cokes, 2 dr, peppers, chicken fried steak sandwich with cheese, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes and salad dressing.

The skinny: Cook robbed and killed a fisherman while out on parole for the fourth time.

The victim's body was found inside a sleeping bag in the bed of his pickup truck, which was partly submerged in a river. He had been shot six times in the head. Cook sank the victim's boat and stole his outboard motor and two lanterns along with his wallet containing about $25.

Last Words and such: Cook asked for forgiveness and repeated his assertion that the shooting was in self-defense. "I would like to say to them, please forgive me for what happened; it was self-defense ... and I was never able to get up on the stand to tell them," he said. "I know this is wrong. I am going home to the Lord." his voice choking with emotion.

Priors: Cook had been convicted twice for theft and three times for burglary. He had been free for 10 months when he was arrested.

BAD GUY GONE WORSE: "When people are speaking of the mythical nonviolent offender who can be released with no adverse consequence, one has to at least think there may be a Bobby Cook among those nonviolent offenders," said Gerald Garrett, chairman of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

A word of warning to the kids: Cook blamed his burglaries on a need for money to support a methamphetamine habit. "At that time, and with those drugs, you didn't care," he said. "I wish this never happened."

Factoids: Cook was the 10th Texas prisoner executed this year and the 299th since the state resumed capital punishment in 1982.