The Jessica Lunsford Case with Update

 

Nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford disappeared from her bedroom at her grandparents' home in the middle of the night Feb. 23, 2005. A massive search was launched for the missing girl that drew the attention of national television networks over the following three weeks. Police found the body of Jessica Lunsford buried in a shallow grave under the back porch of a mobile home less than 150 yards from her home on March 18, 2005, a day after a convicted sex offender told authorities that he had killed the nine-year-old.

 

Update:

Closing arguments are scheduled Wednesday in the murder trial of John Evander Couey after the defense suddenly rested its case after calling only one witness. The defense's only witness was a psychologist who testified that Couey suffers from mental retardation and mental illness.

The prosecution rested its case earlier Tuesday after the lead investigator in the case testified that Couey told him that he hoped to meet nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford in heaven so that he could apologize to her.

Couey was found guilty. A jury in Miami deliberated for almost four hours today before returning guilty verdicts in all charges against John Evander Couey in the kidnapping, rape and murder of nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford.

Couey was convicted of first-degree murder, burglary of a dwelling with battery, kidnapping and sexual battery of a child less than 12 years old.

The same jury will now hear testimony in the penalty phase of the trial, beginning next Tuesday, to determine if convicted sex offender Couey will receive a death sentence.

It has been updated and Couey will receive either lethal injection or the electric chair.

 

I will have more updates as they arrive.

 

The Jessica Lunsford Act

 Initial results from State of Florida on convictions under the Jessica Lunsford Act:

As of February 9th there have been 28 offenders sentenced to prison for  lewd behavior and sexual molestation with an offense date on or after September 1, 2005.  The prison sentence was 13 years (including 2 life sentences).  There were also 8 supervision sentences for this offense.

As a comparison, inmates admitted to prison for this offense state fiscal year 2004-2005 (before the Act) had a median sentence length of just over 6 years. 

As of February 9, 2007 there were 52 inmates in prison sentenced under the Jessica Lunsford Act (requiring electronic monitoring when released), and 341 offenders on supervision."

 

http://exchange.bravenet.com/exit.php?id=4030452644

 

 

Psychological maltreatment, also known as emotional abuse, refers to "a repeated pattern of caregiver behavior or extreme incident(s) that convey to children that they are worthless, flawed, unloved, unwanted, endangered, or only of value in meeting another's needs."

Summarizing research and expert opinion, Stuart N. Hart, PhD., and Marla R. Brassard, PhD., presents six categories of psychological maltreatment:

 

Spurning (e.g., belittling, hostile rejecting, ridiculing)

 

Terrorizing (e.g., threatening violence against a child, placing a child in a recognizably dangerous situation)

 

Isolating (e.g., confining the child, placing unreasonable limitations on the child's freedom of movement, restricting the child from social interactions)

 

Exploiting or corrupting (e.g., modeling antisocial behavior such as criminal activities, encouraging prostitution, permitting substance abuse)

 

Denying emotional responsiveness (e.g., ignoring the child's attempts to interact, failing to express affection)

Mental health, medical, and educational neglect (e.g., refusing to allow or failing to provide treatment for serious mental health or medical problems, ignoring the need for services for serious educational needs)1

Of the estimated 872,000 children who were found to be victims of maltreatment in 2004, 7.0 percent were emotionally or psychologically maltreated.

 

Signs of Emotional Abuse

The presence of a single sign does not prove child abuse is occurring in a family; however, when these signs appear repeatedly or in combination you should take a closer look at the situation and consider the possibility of child abuse.

 

Consider the possibility of emotional maltreatment when the child:

 

Shows extremes in behavior, such as overly compliant or demanding behavior, extreme passivity, or aggression

 

Is either inappropriately adult (parenting other children, for example) or inappropriately infantile (frequently rocking or head-banging, for example)

 

Is delayed in physical or emotional development

Has attempted suicide

 

Reports a lack of attachment to the parent

Consider the possibility of emotional maltreatment when the parent or other adult caregiver:

Constantly blames, belittles, or berates the child

 

Is unconcerned about the child and refuses to consider offers of help for the child's problems.

 

 

 

 

Recognizing and reacting to children who are abused

The National Coalition on Abuse and Disabilities estimates that 18,000 children per year are permanently disabled by abuse and neglect or suffer mental retardation or sensory and motor impairments. A 1993 national study sponsored by the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect indicates that children with disabilities are abused at a rate of 1.7 times that of children without disabilities. Children with disabilities are 1.6 times more likely to be physically abused, and 2.2 times more likely to be sexually abused than children without disabilities.

Beliefs and misconceptions about children with disabilities

Some researchers suggest that children with disabilities have increased vulnerability to abuse because of society’s response to the disability, rather than the disability itself. These social attitudes and misconceptions include:

• A belief that children with disabilities are sheltered from harm and a denial that abuse or neglect is perpetrated.
• A belief that children with disabilities are less valuable than other children.
• A belief that children with disabilities are less credible than other children.
• A devaluation of the impact of abuse and neglect when the victim is a person with a disability.
• A professional reluctance to accept evidence that colleagues may be abusing the children they serve.

At-risk children with disabilities

• Life-long dependency can render a child more trusting and less likely to question caregiver actions.
• Due to dependency on caregivers and “learned compliance”, children with disabilities may be less likely to complain if someone hurts them.
• Many children with disabilities have restricted circles of friends or acquaintances and may not report due to fears of jeopardizing their relationship with, or losing, the abuser. They may also fear retaliation.
• Some children with disabilities may have less understanding of what constitutes “right” or “wrong” behavior.
• Some children with disabilities exhibit self-injurious behavior, leading to difficulty in discerning the source of the abuse.
• Many children with physical disabilities are less able to defend themselves, avoid, or escape the abuse.
• Some children with disabilities cannot communicate clearly and thus cannot report what has happened to them.
• Some children with disabilities lack knowledge about sexuality and abuse and, therefore, may not discern that sexual contact is abusive.
• Dependency on caregivers for close personal care such as dressing, bathing, and toileting may lead to increased opportunity for intrusive touching.

 

The Legal System           

Children and their families become involved in the legal system in various ways resulting in various types of legal proceedings. It is important to distinguish the various types of proceedings or legal forums involving children.

Child Protective Proceedings

Child Protective Proceedings, sometimes called child maltreatment or abuse, neglect and dependency proceedings, are civil cases brought by a state or local government agency to protect an alleged abused, neglected or dependent child. The participants in the case may include the child, the parents or other caretakers, foster parents, and state officials. The purpose of the proceedings is to determine whether the child is abused or neglected, and if so, what action should be taken. Operating with "best interests" and "family preservation" as guideposts, the process involves five stages: preliminary, adjudication, disposition, termination and adoption. Cases begin with the filing of a petition alleging a child is dependent. A preliminary hearing is held (quickly if the child has been removed) in order to determine safety, custody and visitation issues pending further proceedings. Reasonable efforts to avoid removal and the provision of family preservation services should become issues at the preliminary hearing and throughout the process.

Many cases are dismissed or settled without further proceedings. Otherwise, an adjudicatory hearing is held to determine whether the child is dependent based on the abuse or neglect allegations of the petition. The adjudication hearing resembles a traditional trial under rules of civil procedure and evidence. States bear the burden of proving dependency generally by a preponderance of the evidence standard. If the state fails to meet its burden, the case is dismissed and the caretakers regain full control of the child. If an adjudication is made, the court typically issues orders calling for further investigation, evaluations and treatment.

A dispositional hearing is generally held within a short time of the adjudication in order to implement a course of action designed to serve the child while preserving the family if possible. The state agency's case plan (including placement and services) or some version of it is typically adopted at this time. A child may be home or in a group, foster or kinship care placement at this time. The period following disposition is often lengthy and the court should hold periodic review hearings. The dispositional process may conclude with successful completion of the case plan, dismissal of the case and return of the child home. Other disposition options include long term foster or kinship care, continued supervision of the family with the child in the family's care or custody to the state.

If the family cannot be preserved, the case moves to a termination of parental rights hearing where the state must prove parental unfitness by no less than clear and convincing evidence. Termination proceedings are to be followed by adoption proceedings.

Children who are the subjects of child protection proceedings are entitled to a representative to protect their best interests. The majority of U.S. jurisdictions appoint an attorney to serve as a guardian ad litem.

• NACC policy on representation of children in abuse and neglect cases

• State-by-state information about representation of children in child abuse and neglect cases.