Assignment:
In February, 2005, nine-year-old Lunsford was abducted from her home in Florida. She was held captive, raped, and later murdered by forty-seven-year-old John Couey. Couey was a convicted sex offender with a long list of convictions on his rape sheet. Couey admitted on videotape to the police that he sexually assaulted Lunsford in his bedroom and raped her again in the morning. The admission also stated that three days after he abducted her, he bound the child's wrists together with wire. Then, he placed her in a garbage bag, placed the bag inside another garbage bag, and buried her alive in a shallow grave. She suffocated to death.
Couey had asked for an attorney before being interrogated but was not given one. Therefore, his Florida trial court dismissed this statement as being obtained in violation of Couey's Sixth Amendment right to counsel and his right to due process under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. The Lunsford case sparked many debates about the issue of the conflicting rights of victims, suspects, and society. It resulted in the passage of Jessica's Law in Florida and the Jessica Lunsford Act in other states.
Using the the Internet, search for the keywords "Jessica Lunsford" and "Jessica's Law." Evaluate the media coverage and create a document answering the following questions:
•Provide statistical information to prove that MWWS is not a myth but a nationwide problem among missing persons.
•Analyze and justify whether the kidnapping and murder of Jessica meet the criteria for excessive media coverage.
•Analyze some laws named after other victims, for example Amber Hagerman, Megan Kanka, and Polly Klaas. Provide an overview of one of the laws and how it changed the way law enforcement, the media, and citizens respond today to a report of a missing person.
•Provide a critique on whether there was a need for Jessica's Law or the Jessica Lunsford Act. Why or why not? In your critique, discuss what part of the law do you agree or disagree with first as a parent and then as a criminal justice practitioner.
•What was the tone of the media on the trial court's dismissal of the confession of a previous sexual offender, Couey, as being in violation of the Sixth, the Fifth, and the Fourteenth Amendments?
Based on your understanding, create a 6 to 7 page Microsoft Word document that includes answers to the questions in the above scenarios.
Support your responses with examples.
Cite any sources in APA