NEWS RELEASE
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF REPUBLICAN WOMEN
SHIRLEY SADLER, PRESIDENT

 National Federation of Republican Women
Comments on Lunsford Murderer’s Death

Federation Has Worked Nationally to Get Jessica’s Law Passed
 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Upon hearing the news that the man who raped and murdered nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford has died of apparently natural causes while awaiting execution in prison, the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW) is more committed than ever to seeing Jessica’s Law passed in every state.

“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with Jessica’s family,” NFRW President Shirley Sadler says. “The death of Jessica’s murderer, John Couey, serves as a reminder that Jessica’s Law, which keeps child molesters incarcerated longer, must be passed nationwide. The NFRW has been instrumental for the past four years in lobbying state legislatures to pass Jessica’s Law, and more than 30 states already have enacted some version of the legislation.”

The NFRW will continue efforts to see Jessica’s Law passed in the remaining states and will oppose efforts to water down the legislation in any state that has already passed it.

NFRW member Martha Jenkins was involved in the effort to pass Jessica’s Law in her state of North Carolina. She became acquainted with Jessica’s father, Mark Lunsford, who was originally from Gaston County, N.C., before he moved Jessica to Florida to be closer to his parents.

“In North Carolina, we have a very special interest in what happened to Jessica because of her North Carolina birth,” Jenkins says. “Nothing can relieve the horror, grief and loss the Lunsford family suffered because of the monstrous acts of Couey, but we are thankful that the family’s suffering will not include the appeals process that was underway following Couey’s conviction.”

Founded in 1938, the NFRW has thousands of active members in local clubs across the nation and in several U.S. territories, making it one of the largest women’s political organizations in the country. The grassroots organization recruits and elects Republican candidates, advocates the Party’s philosophy and initiatives, and empowers women in the political process.

For more information about the NFRW, visit www.nfrw.org.

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