Floyd Ray Cook is no stranger with the law, his criminal history dates back 44 years.
It all started in 1971 when he was sentenced to life in prison for rape.
Seven years later Cook was paroled and walked away.
“Violent offenders are required to serve 85% of their sentence,” said Carrie Ovey-Wiggins, Lyon County Commonwealth’s attorney. “But all individuals are eligible for parole after 20 years.”
So, what happened back in 1971?
“They actually paroled him after seven years and as far as how they did that, I don’t know,” Ovey-Wiggins said. “If that would’ve been now like I said it would be a 20 year thing.”
The Lyon County Commonwealth’s attorney says 44 years is a long time and says there’s a good possibility the law has changed since then.
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“It could’ve been different in ’71,” Ovey Wiggins said. “Honestly now we wouldn’t even have a 100 year sentence, it’s 20-50 or life.”
After Cook’s 1971 pass, the parole board gave him a second, and even a third chance.
But while Cook was a free man he managed to rack up more felony charges, which ultimately landed him back in prison in 1988 until he took part in the historic escape in Eddyville.
“He was one of the escapees from ‘The Great Escape of ’88,” Ovey-Wiggins said. “My first thought was why is he out of prison?”
But the parole board in 2009 had a different opinion and let him walk away again, making this the 4th time.
While it’s lawful, the Ovey-Wiggins doesn’t understand why it was approved.
“My opinion is that he should not have been paroled based on his criminal history and violent offenses he’s been convicted of,” Ovey-Wiggins said.
According to Cook’s criminal history, he has a total of life+ 127 years but has only served 36 years in prison.
