He Got Off Too Easy

by Donna Weaver

Florida death row inmate John Evander Couey died of cancer last week, and if you ask me, he got off too easy.

Six men and six women found Couey guilty of first-degree murder, burglary, kidnapping, and sexual battery in March 2007 for the rape and murder of nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford in 2005. The same jury also recommend, by majority vote, that Couey be put to death. The defense had urged jurors to sentence him to life in prison, putting psychologists on the stand who testified that Couey was mentally retarded. Florida law prohibits execution of someone judged mentally retarded. The prosecution called their own experts, who stated Couey was well aware of his actions when he kidnapped, raped, and murdered little Jessica.

Couey was a waste of skin who knew exactly what he wanted to do to Jessica Lunsford. He was also the veritable poster boy for the flaws in our justice system that contribute to the horrific deaths of innocent children like Jessie.

Couey’s rap sheet included no less than 24 burglary arrests, an arrest for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, and an arrest for indecent exposure. During a home burglary in 1978, he was accused of grabbing a girl in her bedroom, placing his hand over her mouth, and kissing her. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison but paroled in 1980. In 1991, Couey became a registered sex offender after he was arrested in Kissimmee, FL, on a charge of committing a lewd and lascivious act in the presence of a child. However, the criminal court progress docket for this case shows Couey was allowed to plead guilty to a reduced charge of attempted lewd act on a child. He was given credit for 135 days time served in a state prison.

How does one get arrested 27 times by age 46 and not still be incarcerated?

What about Couey’s housemates? According to CBS News reports, court documents state "Couey's timeline of events after he kidnapped Jessica Lunsford leaves open the possibility she was alive and in the house at the time of the first and possibly the second interview." Citrus County sheriff's deputies stopped twice at Couey's sister's single-wide mobile home while canvassing the neighborhood after Jessie was reported missing Feb. 24. At the first interview, shortly after the child was reported missing, deputies spoke to Couey's niece and her boyfriend. The second time, deputies spoke with the same niece and Couey's half sister. Jessica Lunsford lived just 150 yards away, and her abduction was all over the news. Authorities say the residents concealed the fact that Couey was staying at the trailer. This suggests to me that they may have known Couey kidnapped Jessica and had her in the house. DNA evidence proved that he raped the little girl on the bedroom mattress. Jessica’s fingerprints were also found on other areas in the bedroom. Police and prosecutors believe Couey kept her alive for a time in the bedroom closet.

How could four other adults living in such tight quarters not have heard or seen anything? One month later, Jessica was found near the trailer -- right where Couey told investigators he buried her alive. How could these four people not hear the plastic bags being wrapped around Jessie, or Couey outside digging a hole and then burying the little girl alive as she struggled, her little fingers poking holes through the garbage bags?

It is truly horrifying to contemplate that someone else in that household might have seen her or heard that little girl cry out, and did nothing to help her. If so, they are equally guilty of all charges and deserve the same punishment as the monster they protected with their silence.

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The Injustice of Baby Grace

by Stacy Dittrich

If, after you read this post, you don’t have at least one tear in your eye, become angry, or get a chill and a lump in your throat, please don’t refer to yourself as a human being. In the hype, speculation, and focus of the Caylee Anthony case, little to no attention has been paid to Baby Grace. You remember her, right? The two year old, later identified as Riley Ann Sawyers (pictured left), was found stuffed into a plastic container and dumped into Galveston Bay. When the remains were located in October 2007, the investigators could only refer to her as “Baby Grace.” By the time she was identified, it didn’t take long for the vile details of her death to surface after her mother and her boyfriend were arrested for Riley’s murder. The capital murder trial for Riley’s mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor (20), began last week in Galveston, Texas.

During the trial, Kimberly calmly testified before sobbing jurors exactly what happened on the day of Riley’s death. Prepare Yourself.

Kimberly’s boyfriend, Royce Clyde Zeigler II (25), decided that little Riley needed more discipline. On July 25, 2007, Royce stayed home from work for the sole purpose of instilling "respect" into the toddler. Beginning in the morning, Kimberly and Royce (pictured right with Riley) beat Riley with a leather belt—so hard that Royce’s shoulder hurt—before shoving her face into a pillow. Then, they repeatedly dunked her head into a tub filled with cold water. When Riley couldn't stand up—her legs black and blue from the beatings—Royce began to violently throw her across the room after dragging her by the hair. According to Kimberly’s own testimony, she was able to hear the back of Riley’s skull crack when it hit the tile floor. This torture and abuse lasted all day long. What, according to Kimberly, did Riley repeatedly say to her during the abuse and ultimately became her last words? “I love you, Mommy.”

Feel free to grab a Kleenex.

You're quite a man, Royce Zeigler. . . . I truly hope you get what's coming to you in prison. That will be justice. The suffering and pain this innocent baby endured during the last several hours of her life is indescribable. Any prudent person would believe that a crime as horrific as this that occurred in Texas would be a no-brainer for the death penalty. However, the death penalty is off the table. Why? Because the prosecution didn’t believe that the murderous couple would be a future threat.

Feel free to scratch your head or yell out an obscenity.

These types of injustices are difficult to understand. I wonder, who is the voice for little Riley? It doesn’t seem that there is one. We still don’t know, and may never know, what happened to Caylee Anthony. Did she suffer like Riley? If so, the prosecutors in Florida have a duty to be the voice of Caylee, and send a message to those out there that torture, pain, and death to innocent children is NOT okay. The death penalty would make this voice heard loud and clear.

No future threat? In June 2008, while awaiting trial, Kimberly Trenor gave birth to a baby boy. Royce Zeigler refuses to relinquish his parental rights. Imagine if he were to be released due to a technicality during his trial, which begins soon. Would he not be a threat to an infant that cried in the middle of the night?

Oh, but they didn't mean to hurt Riley! This from Kimberly's defense attorney who claimed she never intended to hurt Riley, but "things spun out of control." Spun out of control? That's how they view it?

It’s truly mind-numbing. Riley Ann Sawyer’s voice was lost. With the upcoming trial of Casey Anthony, we can only hope Caylee’s voice will be heard.

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