Maybe the Death Penalty Ain't So Bad

John Evander Couey. Those of us from Florida are well aquainted with the scoundrel from Citrus County; but I'll lay it out for those of you whose televisions are locked on MTV or BET. On February 27, 2005, Jessica Lunsford disappeared. She had been kidnapped by convicted sex offender, John Couey, who lived only a 100 yards away. Couey spirited the child away in the dark hours of the morning and held her captive in the trailer he shared with two women. Couey savagely raped the 9yr old that day and the next morning. After satisfying his disgusting appetites, he locked the child in his closet while he went to work at "Billy's Truck Lot". Three days after he abducted Jessica, Couey tied her wrists, threw her in a garbage bag, and buried her alive under his front porch, where she suffocated to death. It wasn't until March 19, 2005 Jessica's body was found and Couey was brought to justice--again.

Why was this monster even on the streets?! Why did the system let this two-time loser loose to prowl the streets again for our children? This man has over 20 arrests for burglary. In 1978, Couey broke into a home and stopped to forcibly molest a little girl sleeping in her bed. In 1991, Couey was arrested for fondling another child in Kissimmee. They say old habits die hard. Well, this is apparently the Gospel truth when it comes to child sex offenders. After being released from prison, it never took Couey long to get back to old tricks; hence Jessica's tragic rape and murder. (Did I mention Couey confessed repeatedly to officers and inmates before he tried to play crazy!)

The way I see it, there are two things that need to happen.
(1) We must proactively protect our children from all the 'chester-molester' perverts like John Couey. We cannot give these monsters a slap on the wrist after violating our children in the worst way. What does that say about our priorities as a society.
(2) John Couey must die. Plain and simple. I have never been a staunch supporter of the death penalty; and in the past I have had my doubts about whether the state should hand down punishment on that scale. Today, those doubts have melted away. Any man (if you can call him that) who can do those kind of things to a child does not deserve to breathe the same O2 we enjoy. The state owes Jessica and her father an apology for releasing this guy to offend again, as sex offenders often do. I think the jury agreed with me.

On March 14, 2007, after only 1hr of deliberation the jury recommended Couey be put to death. So I sit here, knowing the facts of this case, and I can't help but think--maybe the death penalty ain't so bad.