The jury in the Lunsford case in a 10-2 vote, has 'endorsed' the death penalty for John Couey.
During the penalty phase, the defense had witnesses testify to the condition of Couey's brain, his apparent (lack of) intelligence, and his childhood. A 2002 Supreme Court ruling makes it unconstitutional to put a mentally impaired person to death.
I don't know if Couey was congenitally stupid, or if it was the crack that made him that way. This case will be appealed, and will be kicked around for years.
The judge will officially sentence Couey in several weeks.
I'd like to think that I'm as compassionate as the next guy, but I have difficulty in thinking that mental impairment is a suitable defense in this case. It seemed that there were many outside factors that made Couey impaired that night, not natural ones. What if we start seeing brain scans of drunk drivers or chronic drug abusers at every homicide trial. If any of my frequent readers (hahaha) would like to weigh in, please comment. I'm not looking for "He's an idiot and he should rot in hell" comments.
I always appreciate well-crafted humor, however.
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