Notorious killer sentenced to death in Florida

MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida judge on Friday sentenced a man to death for kidnapping, raping and murdering a 9-year-old girl who was snatched from her bed and buried alive in a plastic garbage bag.
John Evander Couey had been convicted in March for the notorious 2005 killing of Jessica Lunsford, a crime that prompted a nationwide crackdown on sex offenders.
Circuit Judge Richard Howard upheld the jury's recommended death sentence in his ruling on Friday as Couey, clad in an orange prison jumpsuit, sat looking straight ahead, showing no signs of emotion.
Lunsford was abducted from her home in the central Florida town of Homosassa in February 2005. Her body was found in a shallow grave behind the mobile home where Couey lived.
Couey confessed to the killing and told police where to find her body. His confession was thrown out of court because police did not allow him to talk to a lawyer at the time.
Police said Lunsford was stuffed into a garbage bag and buried alive. Medical examiners said she died of suffocation, and investigators found her blood on a mattress in Couey's bedroom.
Couey was on probation for a drug conviction at the time of the killing and had been required to register as a sex offender after a conviction for fondling a 5-year-old girl.
At trial, the only witness called by the defense was a psychologist who testified that Couey suffers from mental retardation and mental illness.
Howard said medical experts had found no evidence of mental problems in Couey, however.
"He is neither mentally retarded nor does he suffer from any mental illness," Howard said.
The case inspired Florida lawmakers to enact "Jessica's Law," mandating longer prison sentences and lifetime tracking via global positioning devices for sexual predators convicted of molesting children under the age of 12. Other states also introduced tougher legislation on sex offenders.
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