[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 26 (Monday, February 12, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H1451]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      A LITTLE GIRL'S DAY IN COURT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford was a bright, 
talented and energetic little girl. She lived with her father, Mark, 
who was a single parent, trying to raise three children. He also lived 
with her grandparents, Mark's parents, who loved her as much. Jessica 
was a great kid. Everybody thought the world of her, and she took care 
of the family just like they took care of her.
  Mark even moved to Florida to protect his children, thinking they 
would be safer in south Florida than they were where they lived. That 
is when the tragedy began. Almost 2 years ago, on the evening of 
February 23, 2005, the Lunsfords lives were changed forever.
  Among the shadows of a warm Florida night, there was a perpetrator 
running loose. He was stalking the Lunsford home, and he was watching 
9-year-old Jessica Lunsford for several days. He waited till everyone 
in the house was asleep, and the outlaw in the middle of the night 
snuck into the Lunsford home, crept down a darkened hallway, and 
kidnapped Jessica Lunsford from the safety of her open home in the 
middle of the night.
  The search for Jessica, 9-year-old happy girl, went on for several 
weeks. Hundreds of volunteers were involved. Finally, a neighbor, and 
repeat sex offender, John Couey, was arrested for her murder.
  Couey was a registered sex offender, but, of course, he was on the 
lam. He had run. He had disappeared. Couey confirmed what the police 
had already suspected against him, and he had kidnapped Jessica. He 
sexually assaulted her numerous times, and he held her captive for 
several days.
  Mr. Speaker, when he was not abusing this little girl, he stuffed her 
in a closet. Then when he was ready to abuse her again, he would pull 
her out and have his way with her.
  When he realized that the sheriff's department was out to get him, 
knew that he was the culprit, he decided he had to remove the evidence, 
this little girl. So he tied Jessica Lunsford's hands and feet together 
with stereo wire. He went out into the yard, he dug a hole, he came 
back into the house, his own home, put two trash bags over Jessica 
Lunsford, picked her up and threw her in the hole. Yes, he buried that 
9-year-old girl alive.
  When she was found several days later, she had poked her fingers 
through the plastic bags seeking the air of freedom, freedom that never 
came. Couey admitted everything that I just told you to the police, in 
every detail.
  But while he was confessing to these horrors he inflicted on Jessica, 
he asked for a lawyer. Unfortunately, the police ignored his request, 
and this would cause Couey's confession to be inadmissible as evidence 
against him. You see, when a defendant asks for a lawyer, he must be 
given one right away or the statements he makes will not be admissible 
in court.
  However, even without this confession, there is a lot of evidence 
against Couey to prove his guilt. After 2 years and several delays, 
Couey is standing trial for his evil deeds. Today, John Couey is 
sitting in a Miami courthouse as jury selection begins. Twelve men and 
women are being asked to decide his guilt in his crime against this 
little girl.
  Jessica has been needing justice for 2 years. Her family has been 
waiting for 2 years for this justice. As a father of three girls and 
three granddaughters, I know how important little girls are to a father 
like Mark Lunsford, and he has lost his little girl.
  You know, as a society, as a culture, as a Nation, we are never going 
to be judged by the way we treat the rich, the famous, the powerful, 
the important folks. We will be judged by the way we treat the weak, 
the innocent, the elderly, and, yes, the children, the Jessicas of the 
world.
  So the State of Florida and this jury need to give John Couey, sex 
offender, child killer, his day in court. When the evidence is in, 
hopefully the words of this country song will ring true when it says: 
``A man had to answer for the wicked that he done,'' because ``justice 
is the one thing you should always find. You got to draw a hard line'' 
in the sand. ``We got too many gangsters doing dirty deeds. We've got 
too much corruption, too much crime in the streets. It's time the long 
arm of the law put a few more in the ground,'' because justice is the 
one thing you should always find.
  And that's just the way it is.

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