A Tyler federal judge presiding over a civil suit filed by former death row inmate Kerry Max Cook declined to dismiss the City of Tyler and a lead investigator as defendants but removed Smith County and former Sheriff J.B. Smith in orders signed Aug. 21.

District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle, denied motions to dismiss former investigator Eddie Clark and two others but granted dismissal to five other defendants. Clark was the lead investigtor in the 1977 murder of Linda Jo Edwards of Tyler.

Cook was convicted in 1978 of capital murder. He spent nearly 20 years on Texas death row and once came within days of being executed for the crime. In the next two decades, the case experienced a rollercoaster of appeals, trials, another conviction and a plea deal that eventually was set aside.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals exonerated Cook in 2024 despite a judge’s ruling that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove actual innocence. The appellate court noted numerous instances of misconduct in the case. Cook filed suit in the U.S. District Court of Eastern District of Tyler seeking compensation for wrongful conviction.

He is being represented by the Chicago law firm of Loevy & Loevy and contends law enforcement officers conspired to frame him for Edwards’ murder.

Kernodle’s decision removes Smith County, J.B. Smith, Kenneth Findley, Fred Mayo, Ronald Scott, Robert Bond and Nelson Downing as defendants. In their motion to dismiss, these defendants contended Cook failed to provide specific actions to support  the plaintiff’s allegations.

The City of Tyler and four other defendants — Eddie Clark, Gerald Hayden and Erik Liptak and Marvin T. McLeroy — remain named in the suit.

Vanessa E. Curry is a former newspaper reporter who has covered the Cook case for more than 30 years. She recounts her coverage in her book “Lies and Consequences: Covering the Trials of Kerry Max Cook.” (available for purchase on Amazon.com)