A FATHER'S TESTIMONY RESULTS IN DEATH SENTENCE FOR SON

If your son committed a crime and you knew it, would you turn him in to law enforcement, even if it meant his possibly being sentenced to death?

Well, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent did, which resulted in his son being executed by the State of Georgia. The actions by this agent, who was very active in his church and sworn to honesty and integrity by virtue of his job, would be difficult if not impossible, for most parents.

Parents love their children. We indoctrinate them with our own values and social systems and pray that they are successful, as they grow older in establishing their own individual self-worth and identities. In the process, we pray that they understand that it is important also to always embrace charity by giving to those in need and obeying the law.

As parents, we relish watching our children grow up. It is always inconceivable to be faced with the reality of our children predeceasing us as they journey through life. If it does occur, we all wish for the strength of Abraham when he was asked by God to sacrifice his only son. Abraham was obedient and did not question or become angry at God's request. He trusted in God's wisdom without equivocation as is chronicled below in Genesis 22: 2, 9-12 (New International Version-NIV):

2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you."

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven,

"Abraham! Abraham!"

"Here I am," he replied.

12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.

Very few parents would be able to drink from the cup that Abraham was prepared to drink. He represents the personification of having faith and believing in God. For his obedience, he was granted many favors, including the possessions of his enemies.

BUT BACK TO THE STORY CONCERNING THE FBI AGENT

In 1995, two Mercer University young people made a decision to park in an area called Lake Juliette, not too far from Macon, Georgia, home of the famous singer, Otis Redding. Their decision cost them their lives. The area they chose was well-known as a kind of lovers' lane for young people. It was also a popular campsite for the adventurous and those who loved the outdoors.

As the two lovers became totally immersed with each other, their conversation was violently interrupted with gunfire from an AR-15 assault rifle. Taking the couple by surprise, an assailant pumped 14 rounds into the couple's car and apparently not satisfied, fired five more shots into the vehicle with a 9mm pistol. As if murdering the couple were not enough, the assailant desecrated the female victim's body by spitting tobacco juice between her thighs.

The murders shocked the entire state.

Who would commit such a heinous crime against two young people who were just beginning their lives? This question, in fact, would puzzle investigators for nearly two years.

If you believe in divine intervention, you would take seriously, reports of the activities of a Randy Upton, the former Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) agent assigned to the case to solve the murders. He was so obsessed at bringing resolution to the case that he prayed to God for assistance. God was quick in answering his prayer, too. After church services one Sunday, Upton, a devout Christian, took the entire case file to the altar of his church and prayed to God for assistance. It led to Andrew Cook, the son of a well-known FBI agent who lived in the area. With the father's assistance, the young Cook was arrested on December 5, 1996.

After the arrest he confessed to his father- FBI agent, John Cook, that he had killed the couple. The father could not make sense of what the son had done. The son's confession to him, however, created a moral and ethical dilemma for the veteran agent. This was a crisis that no parent wants to face. Cook knew that the son must face the consequences of his actions, and as such, this God-fearing agent became a witness for the prosecution. In doing so, he prayed to God that maybe, just maybe, because of the son's cooperation and his testimony, that his boy's life would be spared from execution.

He was wrong.

The families of the two students wanted Cook's son to pay for his heinous crimes by the State of Georgia putting him to death. The jury agreed.

He was sentenced to die in 1998. As with most capital punishment cases, the wheels of justice appear to grind too slowly for families of a victim in such cases who, in some instances, believe that healing can only take place with the perpetrator's life being taken as retribution.

THE RECKONING FOR DAVID ALLEN COOK

Eighteen years after his crime, 15 years after his conviction for capital murder, it was time for the young Cook to pay for his crimes with his own life. Leading up to his son's death, it is rumored that John Cook, who was very active in his church asked select church members to write letters in support of sparing his son's life.

The majority refused. If true, this must have been quite disheartening-a man of true conviction, who believed in honesty and integrity, avoided in his hour of need by those whom he worshiped with and trusted as friends. All of Cook's effort failed to save the life of his son.

On February 21, 2013, David Allen Cook was taken to the State of Georgia's death chamber and within minutes was pronounced dead at 11:22pm. In attendance were family members of the murdered couple and of course, the former GBI agent who solved the case.

COULD YOU REALLY STAND IN JOHN COOK'S SHOES? COULD YOU FACE THE REALITY OF BEING INSTRUMENTAL IN SENDING YOUR OWN CHILD TO DEATH? IS YOUR PUBLIC ANSWER, REALLY THE TRUTH?

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION?

IMITATION OF LIFE SOMETIMES VERY REAL

The movie, Imitation of Life, initially produced in 1934, with a remake in 1959, is about a white woman (Claudette Colbert-1934 movie), with a daughter, trying to make ends meet in a tough economy. She takes in a black woman played by Louise Beavers and her young daughter. Although Colbert is experiencing hard times, she makes a deal with Beavers in exchange for free room and board for her and her very fair-complexioned daughter.

As their relationship matures, Beavers and Colbert become good friends and their daughters for a while, appear to enjoy each other. As Colbert's financial fortune improves, so does the relationship between her and Beavers. This is not, however, the same between their daughters. The film, which takes place during the period of segregation in the United States, depicts Beavers' daughter being forced to come to grips with the fact that she is black. In fact, it is Colbert's daughter who as she got older, made the distinction between the two of them by being the first to introduce her to this reality.

This angered Beaver's daughter who hated being seen as a Negro. Refusing to accept this reality she vowed to live as a white woman and not to submit to the indignities of living as a black person, restricted by color barriers. To accomplish this, she distanced herself by moving to other cities away from her mother, to pass as a white woman. Beavers, saddened by the daughter's decision, would always locate her to reaffirm her love, only to be reproached and scorned by her child. Finally, so saddened and despondent by the isolation and estrangement from her child, she becomes ill and dies.

The daughter realizing that her mother had died, finally, feeling ashamed of how she treated her, rushes home just in time for the funeral procession that she interrupts, and throws herself over the mother's coffin, asking for forgiveness. This movie, in 2005 was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, and in 2007 as one of the top 25, Most Important Films on Race by Time Magazine.

THE STORY OF WALTER: A MODERN DAY IMITATION OF LIFE

Color has always been a major divisive issue in the African-American community. It has always been believed that the fairer a person is in terms of complexion, the more likely he/she is to be accepted by whites. Historically, in some communities in the United States, there was a common practice of fair-complexioned blacks not marrying a person who was darker. This practice resulted in conflict within the black community.

This story though, is not about color. It is, however, about a young man whom I knew as a child who grew up to live an imaginary existence, embarrassed by an uneducated mother of meager circumstances, who truly loved him. He and I were actually raised in the same community.

I will call him, Walter.

Walter was a few years my junior. I did not know a lot about him as a child other than the fact that he was really smart in school. He dressed extremely well and was considered by those who knew him as being quite handsome. Our small community consisted of two major streets and you could leisurely walk the entire neighborhood in less than twenty minutes. I would occasionally see him walking in the neighborhood, head upright, ignoring everyone around him as if other people really did not exist. I knew then, that he was destined for a better life beyond our current social-economics, which was characterized and defined by the color of a person's skin. Anyone who knew him could tell that he clamored for something greater that segregated social barriers would not be able to block. As he walked during the evenings, he would never stop and talk with neighbors or acknowledge their presence. Even when someone would occasionally say "hello" to him, it was never reciprocated with a courtesy. It appeared to the neighbors that Walter was always an angry little boy.

As the years passed I discovered why. You see, Walter was one of five children; all allegedly from different fathers whom his mother never married. Being considered an illegitimate child out of an amorous relationship during this period was bad enough, but for the mother to make the same mistake five times, for him, it was unconscionable. It appeared that he began hating his mother for her indiscretions at an early age. No matter what the mother did or how much his mother tried to express her love, Walter was resolute in his resentment and hatred. His mother was a hard worker, and did everything humanly possible to be acceptable in the eyes of Walter; all to no avail.

Even with his disapproval, the mother worked tirelessly to ensure a better life for all of her children. When Walter decided that he would be the first in the family to attend college, his mother took on additional jobs, many times, sleeping only a few hours at night to pay for his tuition. This was not enough for Walter, whose hatred was reinforced during his college years. Most of his newly acquired friends and associates were the products of two-parent households; they knew their father, he did not, which caused him to feel inferior and out of place among his peers.

I was actually away studying in Africa when he attended college. Shortly upon my return to the United States, I relocated to Atlanta more than 70 miles from the place of our birth. One evening I received a call from his mother. I discovered that her son, Walter, had just completed his final year of law school and was returning home within the next couple of days. She asked whether I would pick him from the airport and give him a ride home. I of course, said "yes". I was fascinated that the person whom I had known as a spoiled and stuck-up brat had really begun the process of securing the education and skills essential for removing barriers to his success.

I wondered how he looked. Had he matured? Did he still hate his mother? What would I say to him? I was never his friend. Why was I asked to pick him up?

The day finally arrived. I have to admit I was very excited in anticipation of seeing Walter after so many years had passed. When I finally saw him, I could not believe my eyes. I immediately recognized him from a distance as he entered the baggage area. He had become older but had grown to become an extraordinarily sophisticated looking gentleman. This person from a small textile town in Georgia had clearly out-grown our hometown. As we traveled to his home I listened as he talked about his world travels and what he had done since leaving high school. I held on to his every word, trying to find some trace of the old Walter, but could not. This was a new person, a distinguished gentleman of erudition that was clearly discernable by those whom he encountered.

His family was happy to see him, especially his mother, who prepared a special southern soul food meal for the occasion. I spent several hours with his family that day as they reminisced about growing up during a simpler time. Things over the years had changed. Blacks and whites were still separated by railroad tracks but the town was a little different. Blacks could now attend the once segregated college, there were even black police officers, and some blacks even held management positions with the various local industries.

The changes however, were not enough for Walter.

As soon as he got settled in he made it known that he would be moving to another state. He did just that! Less than three months after returning home he was off to accept a position with a major corporate law firm after having passed the state's bar exam.

He did not return home often. When he did, gossip among the old people in the community revealed that he had returned to his old habits of exhibiting disgust for his mother. I was soon able to receive a dose of what they meant. During an unseasonably warm Thanksgiving, a few years after his return, I saw him on one of his rare visits home at the local shopping mall and spoke to him saying "Happy Thanksgiving," Walter.

You know what? He refused to speak. I picked him up from the airport and I thought, he now refuses to speak to me?

What an ingrate!

As the years past, I would see him in the old community as we visited our individual families, but now, I too, did not speak.

This seemed to suit him just fine.

During his visits, he had very little communication with his mother. On some visits he would avoid seeing the mother altogether and stay the weekend with his younger sister, now with a family of her own. A relative confirmed that Walter appeared to feel that he was better and was embarrassed by his family. This embarrassment took a turn for the worst when one day residents were reading their favorite part of the local newspaper-the Police Blotter-to see who had been arrested. To every one's chagrin, the Blotter reported that his mother had been involved in a car accident and was arrested and charged by law enforcement with leaving the scene. This infuriated Walter. Nothing the mother could say after this incident, not even apologizing to the family, tempered his anger. After this incident he vowed to return home for visits even less than before.

He made up his mind to live an existence away from home, that would be free of having to share information about his family. Walter's colleagues and so-called friends were only aware of the Walter whose life and history began when he entered college, lived in Europe, studied law and just simply descended on their city. He was tight-lipped and avoided sharing any information about his family and growing up in a small country town. He believed that sharing personal family information with his new friends would lessen the opinion they had of him. The isolation from his family complete, he completely immersed himself in an imaginary world. It was said during this period that in having conversations with his new acquaintances and gossip concerning news-makers or celebrities came up, Walter would go to great lengths to give the impression to his new friends that he actually knew them!