Don’t let Cook out early

I am absolutely appalled that Heather Cook has the audacity to ask that she be released early from prison (“Ex-bishop who fatally struck Baltimore bicyclist could be out of prison next month if sentencing change OK’d,” Oct. 5). Although her crimes were deemed nonviolent by state law, it is hard to imagine that killing someone by running them down with an automobile is anything but violent.

By all accounts Ms. Cook got off lightly, perhaps because of her status in the community as a bishop. She was known to have a problem with drugs and alcohol while she served as a priest on the Eastern Shore. She lied to the committee who vetted her to become a bishop. I would argue that because of her breach of trust, she should be held to a higher standard. A Sun article of Oct. 6 recounts all of the good works that she is doing in prison (“A look at ex-Baltimore bishop Heather Cook's time behind bars, according to her case file”). That is what she should be doing, helping other addicts and maintaining her sobriety while accepting the punishment that justice cries for.

This woman is clearly a danger to society and should not be released early from prison, unless it is to a halfway house for alcohol and drug addicts. If my opinions sound harsh, it is because too often I have heard people deny responsibility for their actions by saying, “But I was drunk.” As if that absolves them of responsibility for their actions. She knew that she was an alcoholic and chose not to get treatment.