The End of the Story

John Evander Couey, a previously convicted sex offender was found guilty of the kidnapping, rape and murder of 9-year-old Jessica Marie Lunsford of Homossasa, Florida. He was sentenced to death.

After his daughter’s murder, Mark Lunsford, was instrumental in changing sex offender laws across the country with the creation of Jessica’s Law.

John Evander Couey died of cancer in prison on September 30, 2009. Authorities said his death was unexpected although he had been ill for sometime.

Mark Lunsford gave the following statement after hearing of Couey’s death:

“I never dreamed it would happen like this,” Jessica’s father, Mark Lunsford, told CNN. He said he never thought he would live long enough to see Couey put to death because of the lengthy appeals process.
He said he was sad when he heard the news of Couey’s death. “To me, death is sad,” he said. “But her death, Jessie’s death, has been redeemed … I’m relieved. I’m glad it’s over with.” ¹

Unlike Mark Lunsford, Ruth Lunsford, Jessica’s grandmother was less charitable with her remarks:

“I am not shedding any tears,” the girl’s grandmother, Ruth Lunsford, said on Wednesday. “I don’t feel sorry for him. I think God said, ‘John Couey, it’s time to go.’ “
“I don’t feel sorry for him that he had to suffer,” she said. “He didn’t have any mercy on my granddaughter when he murdered her. I’m glad we didn’t have to wait years and years for his appeals and execution, and the taxpayers no longer have to pay for him. I’m glad that God took a hand in it.”²

As for me, I feel both happy and disappointed. Before I started righting stories about missing and murdered children I was kind of on the fence as far as the death penalty is concerned. It only took me 4 years of writing on that topic to get off the fence and be pro-death penalty. The happiness I feel comes from knowing that Couey is finally dead. The disappointment comes from a feeling that Couey was allowed to escape the sentence given to him. I never expected to live long enough to hear that Couey had been executed.

I suppose in the grander scheme of things it does not really matter how he died. He is dead. And that is the end of this story for sure.

1. Convicted Child Killer Couey Dies in Prison, CNN.com, Last Accessed: September 30, 2009. [↩]
2. Ibid. [↩]