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Jury seated in Couey trial
By MICHAEL KRUSE and JOHN FRANK
Published March 1, 2007
MIAMI - The members of the painstakingly picked jury that will hear the criminal case of John Couey include a billing clerk at a children's psychiatric center, a Cuban-born man whose mother was mentally ill and one woman whose daughter was sexually abused when she was a child. Couey, 48, is accused of taking, raping and killing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford of Homosassa in February 2005. The six-man, six-woman jury was finalized just before 4 p.m. Wednesday. Opening statements are today. Circuit Judge Ric Howard told the jurors and three alternates to expect the rest of the trial to last two to three weeks. The jurors will decide two things: Is Couey guilty? And if he is guilty, should he live the rest of his life in prison, with no possibility of parole, or should he die by lethal injection? "This is not a bad jury for either side," said Charlie Rose, a law professor at Gulfport's Stetson University College of Law, after reviewing a Times-compiled list of juror bios, "but if the defense can properly and cogently present mental impairment, and perhaps even prove it during sentencing, there may be an actual fight about the sentence recommended." Here's who will be making that decision: Juror No. 433 is a white woman who had an alcoholic stepfather and works at a children's psychiatric center. Juror No. 871 is a Hispanic woman who roots for underdogs. Juror No. 266 is a black woman who is worried about missing singles night at church. Juror No. 114 is a white woman with the daughter who was sexually molested by her ex-husband. Jurors' names and ages aren't being disclosed due to a court order. Jury selection was a tedious 2 1/2 weeks. Attorneys questioned 288 potential jurors. Five of the chosen 12 know nothing about the case. Seven of the 12 said a person's mental capacity could be reason enough to decide on a sentence other than death. And all the jurors told attorneys they had no strong feelings about the death penalty. Michael Kruse can be reached at mkruse@sptimes.com or 352 848-1434. John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or (352) 860-7312. No. 338 - Black man - Customer service associate - Single No. 1553 - Hispanic man - Supervisor at a hospital and also works in real estate - Single No. 266 - Black woman - Works at University of Miami - Single No. 48 - Black man - Utility worker - Married, children No. 1496 - Man, unclear ethnicity - Commercial real estate agent - Married, no children No. 53 - Man, unclear ethnicity - County aviation officer - Not married, one child No. 846 - White man - Computer technician - Married No. 1187 - Hispanic woman - Computer help desk worker for the school system - Single No. 1009 - Hispanic woman - Retail supervisor - Married, no children No. 433 - White woman - Billing clerk at children's psychiatric center - Separated, has children No. 114 - White woman - Retired teacher and librarian - Divorced, three children No. 871 - Hispanic woman - Financial analyst for an insurance company - Married, no children
[Last modified March 1, 2007, 09:26:45]
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by gc
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03/02/07 01:36 PM
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I don' care who you are, white, black,male,female, or job wise. This guy is guilty and we all know it! He buried this little girl ALIVE, how can we dismiss this?
Give him is lethal injection and be done with him.
He didn't care about Jessica.
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Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
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