Submitted by Charlton Stanley (aka Otteray Scribe), Guest Blogger
“If you’ve got ’em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.”
– Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President of the United States.
I should have known something was up. I came home from work one day and my wife met me at the door. “Somebody broke into Curtescine’s house and tried to rape her.” Curtescine Lloyd was one of the nurses on the oncology floor at the hospital. Curtescine lived in Edwards MS, a small bedroom community just a few miles west of where we lived.
Shocked, I asked if there was any word on whether she was hurt, and did we need to go to the hospital. My wife responded, “Not exactly.”
That isn’t the sort of response one expects in a situation like that, but I was so shocked and upset, I missed the nuance of her reply. Before we get to the rest of the story, let me tell you a bit about my wife and about Curtescine Lloyd. My wife was a Registered Nurse, was a Head Nurse and part time house supervisor at a large hospital in Mississippi. When she started work at the hospital, they did not have an oncology (cancer) unit. Cancer patients had to be sent to another hospital, or were scattered around the hospital on different units.
When we lived in St. Louis, she was assigned to her hospital’s oncology unit. She didn’t know much about cancer patients or cancer treatments when she started, but was a quick study and over time became a specialist in oncology nursing services. After I finished graduate school, we moved to Mississippi where I went to work for the State Department of Health. My wife had no intention of hanging up her nurse’s cap. She got her Mississippi license and went to work.
Within two months of joining the nursing staff of one of the largest hospitals in Mississippi, she was promoted to Head Nurse in charge of a busy medical-surgical unit. That went along smoothly for several years. Her floor was where all the doctors wanted their patients if a bed was available. Yet, she was not happy with the treatment cancer patients were getting at the time. She approached management and informed (not asked—you would have to know my wife to understand fully) the hospital administrator that she was converting her med-surg floor to an oncology unit.
Cancer nurses are a special lot. They have to be compassionate and caring, but also very tough. Cancer is a terrible disease, and treatments often go on for months, sometimes years. Because of the length of time patients are on the unit, staff gets to know the patients and their extended families. They become attached to many of the patients, but many of the patients do not survive. Not just any nurse or doctor can handle oncology work; they need a special kind of tough mindedness. Knowing what she needed to staff a cancer unit, my wife scoured the hospital like a professional headhunter. She convinced some of the best nurses in the hospital to come work for her. Curtescine Lloyd was one of those nurses. Ms. Lloyd was a middle-aged black lady. Very dignified, strong faith in God and a Sunday school teacher. She is one of those people who ooze compassion and empathy. One of the most beloved nurses at the hospital. However, when talking to a professional oncology nurse, don’t let the kind and gentle exterior fool you. Inside, they have the kind of fortitude a Marine Sergeant Major would envy. A thug named Dwight Coverson was about to find that out.
Curtescine was at her home in Edwards, and had just dozed off to sleep around midnight when Mr. Dwight Coverson appeared in her bedroom and proceeded to disrobe. While removing his clothing, he starts telling her what he is going to do to her in rather graphic terms. Once naked, he climbs into her bed and wants her to perform certain sex acts on him. Unexpectedly for him, our sweet Sunday school teacher nurse suddenly morphs into The Hulk.
As she later explained it to me, “He stuck that thing in my face, and it sticking straight out. So I grabbed it with my right hand and twisted as hard as I could. Then I noticed them things hanging down, and grabbed them with my left hand and squeezed as hard as I could, and twisted them the opposite direction.”
Needless to say, by this time Curtescine had the man’s undivided attention. He started screaming that she was hurting him. Since I don’t want to break WordPress, I can’t put it down exactly as she said it. Let’s just say our compassionate nurse was suddenly not at all compassionate, informing him that since he was going to hurt her, she was not at all impressed by his entreaties. At the bottom of this story is a the court reporter’s actual audiotape. You can hear her explain what happened in her own voice.
Curtescine dragged the would-be rapist to the front door by his unmentionables. Curtescine was not about to let go or let up. She made him unlock the front door, which had two deadbolt locks. Complicating his task was the fact he kept falling to the floor, screaming in pain. Curtescine kept hauling him to his feet, using the…handles…on which she had a death grip. Not only a grip, but she continued to both squeeze and twist. After he finally got the two deadbolts unlocked, his problems were not over. She coolly informed him he still needed to unlock the screen door. By this time he is pleading with her to call the police. She told him she was not an idiot, that she would have to let go of him to use the phone, giving him an extra twist to make her point. He wanted to go straight off the porch, but she dragged him the full length of the porch to the far end. As she finally released her grip on him, she informed him she was going inside to get her gun so she could come back and shoot him. By this time, he was a True Believer. Whatever she said she was going to do, he was convinced she would do it. She did hurry back inside to get her aunt’s pistol. Returning to the porch, she fired two shots in the direction she last saw him running. Keep in mind that he was wearing only his socks as he fled from her house. I am not sure “running” is the right word. He seems to have been departing as fast as he could manage while hunched over.
2011 photo
When the Sheriff’s department arrived, investigators found the would-be rapist had been wearing monogrammed clothes. His name was sewn into his clothing, a detail that simplified the manhunt a great deal. When Deputy Sheriff Dennis Moulder went to his residence to arrest him, 29 year old Dwight Coverson was still writhing in pain, expressing doubt that he would ever be able to have children.
The trial attracted considerable media attention. The courtroom was packed when Curtescine Lloyd testified. On the court reporter’s tape, you can hear muffled giggles. The prosecutor was Bobby DeLaughter, who also prosecuted Byron De La Beckwith, the man who assassinated Medgar Evers. Bobby was played brilliantly by Alec Baldwin in the movie Ghosts of Mississippi. George Luter, Coverson’s defense attorney, had virtually nothing to work with as a defense. I felt sorry for George.
The jury was out exactly seven minutes before returning a guilty verdict. It wouldn’t have taken that long, but two of the jurors had to go to the bathroom. Dwight Coverson was sentenced to twenty-five years. In 1993, the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the conviction. I can only imagine what it must have been like for Dwight Coverson as an inmate. There is no way the history of his crime could be kept secret from the other inmates.
Coverson is out of prison now, and according to the sex offender registry, has been living in Chicago. He was rearrested in Cook County, Il several times in the past year. Most of the arrests are for failure to notify the sex offender registry of changes of address. The mug shot above is from Cook County, Illinois in 2011. The original 1990 mug shot from Hinds County is not available.
This link takes you to the opinion of the Mississippi Supreme Court. Coverson v. Mississippi, 617 So. 2d 642 (1993)
The opinion includes Ms. Lloyd’s testimony verbatim. I know what happened, since I knew all the Justices, some of whom have a wicked sense of humor. They couldn’t resist quoting that section of trial transcript in the opinion so it would be preserved forever in Southern Second.
A local radio station got a copy of the court reporter’s tape. This was broadcast the day after the Mississippi Supreme Court decision was handed down. They had to bleep it a bit, but you can hear what she said in court.
Robin,
I’m sending you all the good karma I have at my disposal. May the surgery be successful and your recovery rapid and full. As for the laughter you’ve had? Providing a little humor when discussing what can often be serious subject matter has always been one of my goals when writing here. That it has at times made you laugh? Is heavenly music to my ears. As ever, one lives to be of service. To that end . . .
Jacques and Pierre were lumberjacks working in the deep cold recesses of the Canadian wilds of British Columbia. When they weren’t felling trees, there wasn’t much to do in the logging camp except drink at the company saloon.
One night, Jacques said to Pierre, “Pierre! I bet two weeks pay you cannot drink a case of that whiskey, make love to an Eskimo and kill a polar bear!”
Pierre took him up on the bet, drank the case of whiskey and staggered off into the night. Everyone figured they’d find him passed out somewhere around camp the next day. Next day? No Pierre.
A couple of days go by? No Pierre.
A couple of weeks go by? No Pierre.
The other loggers figure he must have wandered out into the woods and fallen down a ravine or something. So just as they are meeting in the saloon to organize a search party, Pierre staggers in and up to the bar.
He’s a mess. His hair is all blown out and he’s got a wild look in his eyes. He’s clawed and bitten. His clothes are in tatters.
He stands up on the bar and says, “Jacques! Where is that Eskimo you wanted me to kill?”
RobinH,
Hang in there. Having faced life threatening surgery myself more than a few times it is a scary prospect, but with all of our good vibes we hope it will go well and you will be back to yourself once again. You are and will remain a valuable part of this blog.
Ouch…… I’m quite sure you’ve known number of numb nuts over the years…..
RobinH45,
I think I can speak for many here when I tell you that I am sending good vibes your way. Please have your son or someone let us know how you are doing until you are able to blog your own comments.
Dredd,
Over the last forty years, I have said many times that the term, “Dumb crook,” was redundant.
Simms:
I have not seen or talked to Ms. Lloyd in about twenty years. I really ought to call and check on her. I imagine she has probably retired by now. We moved away from that area in 1996, and my wife and I lost track of many people. I do know that like my wife, some of her former nurses and favorite physicians are now deceased.
You know, I almost want to feel sorry for the guy, because that there has got to be a very special kind of pain — but he brought it on himself and deserved every bit of it, so no empathy from me.
That is truly an awe-inspiring story, OS — thank you for sharing!
RobinH45, stop by Medical Billing, before going to Oncology. Explain the odds given, and how you have no intention of paying your bill if you do not make it out of surgery alive. Give them an opportunity to be: “Properly incentivized”.
One for the Stupid Criminals series. If they have an x rated session now and then.
You made my morning. There are only 110 hits on YouTube since July. Why hasn’t this gone viral?
How is this wonderful lady doing today?
omgoodness i left out Elaine im sorry Elaine im crying from the pain and laughing from the article that i forgot to add your name to the list
OS i wanna thank you.. this put the laughter back into my heart this morning… with 3 deaths and a minor surgery all within the last week i could find no reason to laugh.. well your blog broke that this morning. and now tomorrow morning i will gladly hit the oncology dept hoping one of the nurses has the same disposition as Miss Curtescine.. especially since the surgery im having has a 30/70 chance of me making it out… and if i dont
i want to thank Otteray scribe, nick s, Rafflaw, Gene H, Blouise, Dredd,LottaKatz, and Darren smith for all the laughs i had when reading posts you all contributed to. and believe me there are years more that i’ve read when i didnt post trying to feel out the blog…
A huge Thank You to Mr Jonathan Turley for creating the blog and providing me years of reading material… Bless all of you ..
Otteray just so you know im laughing so hard dragon cant even understand me right now smh my son is typing this for me. and he’s laughing to just not as hard as i am
Thank you for sharing this, OS. I truly laughed out loud.
“Break out you sob, you knew how to break in, didn’t you?”
This has to be the all time best story I’ve ever heard. Chuck, you get to know some of the best folks!
Ah, Ms. Lloyd, a quote for the ages:
“Break out, s*n-of-a-b*tch; you broke in, didn’t you?” And I was still holding him.
Reminds me of a night when you could hear the burglar plead:
“Send someone quick, I’m gonna die. She’s gonna shoot me. I sneeze and I’m a dead-man.”
as the nightgown-wearing homeowner had her husband’s shotgun and explained the facts.
The Sergeant had the 911 call on speakerphone, and asked her to make the gun “safe” as units were responding.
My (armed) EMS unit was around the corner, and we took the call… on the chance she’d blast him.
“I’ve already told him once. I’m not really certain how to put the safety on, I just know this thing goes off real easy, and I’m shaking so bad, anything could happen.”
Much like this case, the Defendant chose to make admissions, though later attempted to use the “mistaken house” defense:
“I thought it was my friend’s house, and when the door was locked, I climbed-in the open window.”
Prosecutor: “After you cut the screen.”
“Who’s this friend, and what’s his address? Sir? Please answer my question.”
Defendant: “Well I was stoned at the time. He don’t live around there none.”
Jury: No Sale.
I suspect the homeowner was a member of Screen Actor’s Guild, as she emptied the chamber, and put the shotgun down, upon our taking the intruder into custody.
“Let me go get my robe, and I’ll sign a statement.”
Gene,
I figured you would know about it, considering where you are from. However, bet I am the first person you ever met who actually knows every one of the characters in this psychodrama.
never piss off a nurse. they know how a body is put together and they know how to take it apart.
This was not a new story for me, but it’s just as amusing and painful the second time around. 😀
Yeah, she really put the squeeze on him. Then she twisted him around her little finger, so to speak, heheheh. The power of a woman!
Chuck,
The heroic behavior of some often goes unnoticed in the din the media creates for “heroes” of lesser stature but more star power. Ms. Lloyd turned the tables on a man exhibiting the worst bullying behavior possible. While he wasn’t hoisted on his own petard, his petard was indeed hoisted.
That is a story that will get a grip on you.
I am glad I was not a juror in this one, since they would have had to take me out on a stretcher. How they kept their composure is beyond me. My only question is WHY did the defense attorney take this to trial? Another question is why they let him move to Chicago. I know it is Mississippi’s gain and Chicago’s loss, but I would have thought Chicago would have objected more.