Robert Raymond Cook is remembered as the last man executed in Alberta, and one of the most controversial figures in Canadian criminal history.

In 1959, Cook was arrested for the murder of his 7 family members but only convicted of one; the murder of his father, Raymond Cook, whose body was found shot inside the family home in Stettler, Alberta. The case against Cook was largely circumstantial, built on inconsistencies in his statements, forensic evidence that was later questioned, and a confession he claimed was coerced after prolonged police interrogation.

Cook maintained his innocence throughout his trial and right up to his execution. Despite appeals and growing public unease about the reliability of the evidence, after less than a year on death row, he was hanged on November 30, 1960 at the Fort Saskatchewan jail. He was just 22 y ...