The Jessica Lunsford tragedy

Resigned to die either way

John Couey tells his aunt he expects to get death penalty.

By JOHN FRANK, Times Staff Writer
Published August 23, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT John Couey expects death Hear the tape Special report [Times photo: Maurice Rivenbark] John Couey listens during a hearing in July to determine his mental state and ability to face the death penalty. Circuit Judge Ric Howard heard testimony in his Citrus County courtroom and will sentence Couey on Friday.

INVERNESS -- A Citrus County judge will have two options Friday when he sentences John Couey for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford: death by lethal injection or life in prison without parole.

In a jailhouse conversation with his aunt, Couey said Judge Ric Howard's decision is a foregone conclusion.

"We all know what he's going to do," Couey told Virginia Kloetzer in a recorded chat on Aug. 3.

"Well, me too," his aunt replied. "But you know God's in control of everything."

"At this point," Couey said, "I don't worry about it because it's in his hands. ... I don't let it bother me. ... You've got to go some way."

It's unclear whether Couey was referring to the judge or God when he said "it's in his hands." But to him, the end is inevitable. He wants to be cremated "when they finally do my execution."

The hour and 13-minute conversation, taped by Citrus County jail officials, offered insight into Couey's thinking as he faces his most important court appearance. The St. Petersburg Times obtained a copy of the recording after a public records request.

In March, a Miami jury found Couey guilty in the February 2005 killing of Jessica, a third-grader at Homosassa Elementary School. Couey kidnapped her from the mobile home where she lived with her father and grandparents, sexually assaulted her and buried her alive in black trash bags.

It's clear from the Aug. 3 jail recording that Couey was excited to see his elderly aunt, who cared for him and his sister when they were young. They talked about everything from family members to his case. The tone of his rough voice is calm, like a man resigned to the state of things, though he allows himself a laugh at times.

'It was stupid of me'

When his aunt talked about the impact of the case on the family, Couey expressed regret. "It was stupid of me," he said.

"Well it was," his aunt replied. "But one person doing something they shouldn't do doesn't mean the whole family's that way."

Earlier this year, Couey made veiled expressions of remorse to jail guards. His statements were key to his conviction.

During the jailhouse conversation, Couey's aunt told him his court-appointed attorneys "did the best they could with nothing to work with."

But Couey was upset and felt "they could do a little better." Then he allowed, "I didn't help them out much by running my mouth." They both laughed.

"But you know me, I couldn't keep quiet," he said.

Kloetzer, a Sumter County resident, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Couey's statements in the recording might be his last before sentencing. Howard typically gives defendants an opportunity to speak before he rules, but defense attorneys could advise Couey to stay quiet to prevent any damaging outbursts.

If Couey receives the death penalty, the execution won't happen soon. Years -- decades even -- of legal appeals stand between Friday and execution day. The first is an automatic appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.

The average stay on death row is 12 years, according to the state Department of Corrections. Infamous serial killer Ted Bundy spent only 9-1/2 years on death row. Escaped mental patient Gary Alvord just passed 33 years in his 6-foot-by-9-foot cell.

Legal experts say Couey's case likely will take longer than the average, pegging it in the 15-to-20-year range because of the appeals. Couey could waive his appeals, but that is improbable and he made no mention of doing so when talking to his aunt.

The longer Couey spends in jail the greater the chance he won't get the lethal injection, legal experts say.

The first reason is his health. He turned 49 on Sunday, but years of hard living, drugs and alcohol abuse make him look much older.

Then there is serious danger presented by his fellow inmates.

"It's a real issue because the crime he's convicted of and the coverage he's received," said Charlie Rose, a Stetson law professor. "He's in true danger much like Jeffrey Dahmer. I wouldn't be surprised" if he dies in prison.

Special protection

Couey and his aunt agree. During their conversation, she said she appreciated the special protection her nephew has received in jail so far. She doesn't want to see him with the general population.

"It's probably going to happen when I get up there anyways," Couey said. "It depends which (sentence) I get."

Death row inmates are isolated for 23 hours a day, prison officials said, in part to protect them. They are kept in a separate wing and mix with fellow death row inmates only during recreation time.

Prison officials said they don't know yet where Couey will be placed if he gets the death penalty. Two adjacent facilities in Raiford house the 381 men currently on death row.

That's where Mark Lunsford, Jessica's father, wants to see Couey go. Like many family members of victims, he wants the ultimate punishment -- an end to the emotional turmoil since Jessica disappeared Feb. 24, 2005.

"I don't think there will be any end to it until he's dead," Lunsford said. "I don't know if I'll call that closure."

Laurie Lahey will tell you it doesn't come easy.

Her sister, Tracy Paules, was killed in her Gainesville apartment in August 1990 by serial killer Danny Rolling, convicted in 1994 and executed in 2006.

"For 13 years, I ached for her, day after day after day," Lahey said this week.

She handled it better than most because she imagined he suffered while sitting on death row. "But I'll tell you what," Lahey added. "I have found some kind of closure because he is gone."

Life sentence better?

Capital punishment opponents often mention the years of delays as a reason why a life sentence is better. It "is carried out immediately and the murder victims don't have this tortuous wait for what they have been promised is justice," said Mark Elliott, spokesman for Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

Couey's aunt wishes more had been done to help him earlier. Without saying who she was referring to, she told him, "If they'd listened to me when (you were) little, you wouldn't be here. And that little girl would still be. ..."

In the end, Couey said he is comforted by the case's outcome.

"There's a lot of good that came out of this, too," he told his aunt. "A lot of laws got changed. ... I'm glad it came out the way it did. ... If you can change one, you're doing a good job."

None of that sits well with Mark Lunsford.

"There was no good that came from it," he said. "There is no good that came from her death."

John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or (352) 754-6114.

What's next : John Couey's fate

In court Friday, a Citrus judge will decide between life and death after weighing the "aggravating factors" presented by the prosecution with the "mitigating factors" listed by the defense.

Prosecutors listed five factors for the death penalty:

• Committed while engaged in a sexual battery or kidnapping
• Committed for purpose of avoiding arrest
• Especially heinous, atrocious or cruel
• Victim was less than 12 years old
• Cold, calculated and premeditated killing

Defense attorneys countered with 22 reasons for life in prison, including:

• Mental illness and limited intellectual ability
• Mental, physical and emotional abuse as a child - Chronic alcohol and substance abuse
• Never received appropriate mental health treatment
• Cooperated with law enforcement and led them to victim's location The appeals process How it works

After the judge makes a decision, the case begins a lengthy appeals process starting with an automatic appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. These courts review the case next in the following order, according to Circuit Judge H.O. Eaton, an expert who trains fellow justices in death penalty procedure.

1. Florida Supreme Court
2. U.S. Supreme Court
3. Trial court (for post-conviction review)
4. Florida Supreme Court
5. U.S. Supreme Court
6. U.S. District Court - Federal Circuit Court of Appeals
7. U.S. Supreme Court

[Last modified August 23, 2007, 00:38:40]