September 17, 2010 Chautauqua

From the Editor's Computer

On September 4th I attended the Aaron Coates play The End of the Rope at the Bashaw Majestic Theatre about Robert Cook, the last man hung in Alberta, and his lawyer David MacNaughton. Even 50 years later, reactions to the case are very mixed.

Personally, I don’t know if Robert Cook murdered his family, however I don’t think he should have hung as there were too many details that don’t really add up to the obvious conclusion that Cook’s juries arrived at.

Have you ever seen the movie “12 Angry Men” (1957) with Henry Fonda? If not, I recommend it. The movie follows the deliberations of 12 jurors who must decide whether to send an 18 year old to the electric chair for killing his father. It also highlights how blind people can be to the obvious when emotions run high and the facts of a situation presented are too cut and dried.

Sometimes it only takes one person, with one question, to change the course of events.

Beth

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