Vikings’ Chris Cook Found Not Guilty On All Counts

This should make it a lot easier for the Vikings to keep Cook on the team if they so desire.  Do you think the Vikings should welcome him back with open arms or should there be some type of penalty for putting himself in this situation?

Minnesota Vikings cornerback Chris Cook was found not guilty on all counts in his assault trial.

He was accused of brutally choking and assaulting his girlfriend, Chantel Baker, last fall. He claimed he was merely defending himself from her angry, drunken attack.

The jury began deliberating at about 2 p.m. Wednesday after five days of testimony and nearly three hours of closing arguments that morning. They quit at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and resumed at about 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

During closing arguments, Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Liz Cutter and defense attorney John Lucas each tried to convince the jury that the other sought to distort the facts to suit their perception of what happened.

"Jealousy, anger, rage and misplaced guilt. These are the emotions that drove the events of Oct. 22 and shaped them after," Cutter said. "We are here today because of the defendant's rage."

Lucas countered that prosecutors are not mind readers, and cannot know why Baker, a 21-year-old college student, recanted her allegation that Cook choked her.

via Vikings' Chris Cook found not guilty on all counts | StarTribune.com.