NATIONAL BRIEFING
Times Wire Reports
John Evander Couey, a convicted sex offender awaiting execution for kidnapping, raping and burying 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford alive, died of natural causes.
Couey, 51, who had been ill for some time, died at a Jacksonville hospital, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said.
The 2005 crime prompted many states to pass laws that impose more restrictions on sex offenders.
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