American Justice at Work: Killer’s Taped Confession Thrown Out

By Linda Orlando

Judge Ric Howard ruled Friday that the taped confession of John Evander Couey isn’t admissible in court because the convicted sex offender wasn’t given the opportunity to consult a lawyer before confessing. The judge said the discovery of her body can be used as evidence, but the videotape of her killer telling detectives that he killed her will not be shown to jurors. "This is a material and a profound violation of one of the most bedrock principles of criminal law," Howard said in issuing the ruling.

Coue, 47, was a convicted sex offender who lived in Jessica Lunsford’s Homasassa town. In February 2005, he kidnapped 9-year old Jessica from her home in the middle of the night. The search for her began almost immediately and people across the country were transfixed on the case, as investigators began zeroing in on registered sex offenders living in the area surrounding Jessica’s home. Couey fled Florida and went to Georgia, where he was arrested on a Florida warrant unrelated to Jessica’s disappearance.

When two detectives traveled to Georgia to interview Couey, they soon realized they had found the savage who had raped and killed Jessica. Couey told the detectives that he had kidnapped, raped, and killed the little girl, and he told them where to find the body. Two days later, authorities found Jessica kneeling and clutching a stuffed animal. Her hands were tied with speaker wire, and her fingers were poking through the garbage bags in which she had been buried alive.

During his confession, Couey told the detectives that he wanted to consult a lawyer, but he wasn’t given the opportunity to do so. Portions of the taped interview were played in court for the judge to evaluate. On the tape, Couey spoke freely about his criminal past, his use of crack cocaine, and his troubled relationship with his family. However, when the detectives honed in on questions about Jessica Lunsford, Couey repeatedly mentioned that he wanted a lawyer. And now jurors won’t be shown his confession simply because he didn’t have the chance for a lawyer to advise him not to tell the truth.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Couey, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder, burglary, kidnapping and sexual battery. Couey told police where to find the body of this little girl, yet now he’s pleading not guilty. Evidently our justice system believes this monster should have the freedom to say, "My lawyer told me that I shouldn’t have confessed," and the jury won’t be allowed to see the proof that he did confess. Jury selection for his trial is expected to start July 10.