A former Episcopal bishop who killed a bicyclist in Baltimore while driving drunk has received maximum punishment.
Heather Cook
The Bishop, who goes by the name Heather Cook, was sentenced to seven years in prison on Tuesday.
According to an AP report, Cook who had been the second-highest-ranking Episcopal leader in Maryland, pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter, drunken driving and leaving the scene.
Her blood-alcohol level was 0.22 percent, and prosecutors said she was texting when she struck 41-year-old cyclist Tom Palermo on Dec. 27. The impact threw Palermo onto Cook's hood and into the windshield of her car. He died of severe head trauma, leaving behind a wife and two young children.
After more than an hour of tearful testimony from members of Palermo's family during Tuesday's sentencing, Cook turned and addressed them directly for the first time.
"I am so sorry for the pain and agony I have caused," she said. "This is my fault and I accept complete responsibility."
"I think about you every day," she told Palermo's wife, parents and other relatives. "I often felt I didn't deserve to be alive."
Cook then turned and addressed the judge, "Your honor," she said, "I believe God is working through this and I trust your judgment."
Cook remained composed during most of the hearing, breaking into sobs only when Palermo's mother spoke and when a former parishioner testified that she'd named her adopted daughter after Cook. After the hearing Cook was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.