Anthony not guilty of murder

[Seamus Fermanagh]

The standard is, and should be, "beyond a reasonable doubt."

The prosecution proved, conclusively, that she had lied to law enforcement during the investigation and that she was a sub-standard mother, chronic lier, and quite possibly a bit of a slut.

The evidence from the child's corpse makes it pretty clear that a homicide (and probably a murder) occurred and that there was certainly an effort by some person(s) to hide the evidence of that homicide. However, the state of the remains made it impossible to conclusively demonstrate the exact cause of death or who had attempted to hide the evidence. In short, there was room for reasonable doubt.

Regarding the child abuse counts, the jury apparently made a judgement that there was no pattern to indicate abuse (and there truly were no signs of her hitting the child or other "abusive" behaviors prior to her disappearance) and that the same lack of linkage noted above was also a lack of linkage to this horrific instance of abuse.


Note for political junkies: The verdict in this case is highly instructive as to why the Guantanemo detainees are a) still in Gitmo, and b) not in a civilian court.

[HoreTore]

What possible relevance does the mothers level of sluttyness have on this case, Seamus?

[Major Robert Dump]

She was tried with murder 1 because that is what she committed. To go for anything less would be a injustice for the victim. As it happens, though, she was acqueitted, so now Caley Anthony has no justice.

A prosecutor has to decide between partial justice and no justice. Murder 1 was a longshot the entire time. Murder 2 would have been just fine and had a far more chance of success, in fact, with murder 2 they may have even been able to get a plea. Her defense attorneys knew this, and knew that it would be damn near impossible to prove. I mean, there are no witnesses and it took damn near a year to find the body as I recall, and don't forget this state is in a different country.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

What possible relevance does the mothers level of sluttyness have on this case, Seamus?

Nothing. That's my point, they weren't proving anything relevant to the charges.

[Crazed Rabbit]

How could they charge her with both Murder and Manslaughter?

CR

[Centurion1]

Yes you are. Was Anthony charged with child abuse? Nope, not as far as the article makes it seem to be the case anyway. It's not the job of a jury to match the crime and punishment. It's the job of the jury to assess guilt of the specific charges levied within reasonable doubt. And they found that the charges were not sufficiently backed by evidence to proclaim guilt beyond reasonable doubt, which implies she is still to be considered innocent until proven otherwise.

EDIT: This is what appeals are for, and you can probably chalk this up to the prosecution getting ahead of itself.

I will say again Tellos do your research more thoroughly this is getting annyoing. :P She was charged with aggravated child abuse which she was acquitted of.

Count One, First Degree Murder: If Casey Anthony is convicted of first degree murder, regardless of whether it is on a theory of Pre-meditated Murder or Felony Murder she will receive at a minimum a life sentence. A life sentence in Florida is a true life sentence, which means there is no parole or early release. A defendant convicted of first degree murder only leaves prison after his or her death. The only alternative to a life sentence is death by execution.
Lesser Included of Count One, Second Degree Murder: (depraved mind murder, not premeditated) The maximum penalty for Second Degree Murder is a life sentence. The minimum sentence is based on the Criminal Punishment Code. The estimated minimum sentence for this charge and other charges which might result in conviction along with this count would be 24 years, 6 months.

Count Two, Aggravated Child Abuse: The maximum penalty for aggravated child is 15 years in prison. The estimated minimum sentence for this charge and other charges which might result in conviction along with this count would be 12 years, 1 month.

Count Three, Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child: If Casey Anthony is convicted of causing the death of Caylee by culpable negligence the maximum sentence is 30 years in prison. The estimated minimum sentence for this charge and other charges which might result in conviction along with this count would be 16 years and 6 months.

UPDATE: Casey Anthony was found not guilty of the first three counts. She was found guilty of the following:

Counts Four Through Seven, Giving False Information to a Law Enforcement Officer in Reference to a Missing Person: The charge in these four counts carries a maximum of one year in county jail for each count. As a result if convicted of all four of these counts, Casey Anthony could receive a sentence of four years if the sentence for each count is run consecutively.

[HoreTore]

Nothing. That's my point, they weren't proving anything relevant to the charges.

They actually spent time on that in court? In other words, they tried to appeal to the talibani morals of the jury. In that case, I am very happy that it failed hard and she was found not guilty.

The prosecutor ought to be slapped. Hard.

[Don Corleone]

It doesn't sound like you or anybody else in the EU is particularly familiar with this case, so let me share with you some of what we all got in a non-stop barrage in the media over the past 3 years....

-A 2 year old goes missing around mid-June, 2008. The child, Caylee lives with her mother, Casey, who lives with her mother Cindy (and her father, forget his name).
-After a month of "Idunno" answers from Casey on where the child has gotten to, the grandmother (Cindy) calls local police.
-Police question the mother (Casey). Her story is that the child is with a babysitter who took off about a month ago. She doesn't want police involvement.
-Police find and impound Casey's car. When they open the trunk, a rotting smell of human decompisition wafts out (defense later stipulates this was due to garbage, not decomposition).
-Over the next couple of months, Casey changes her story about a dozen different times. All scenarios still lead her back to not wanting police involvement.
-The police finally arrest her and charge her.
-The 'slut thing'... about 6 months after being incarcerated, photos emerge of the mother, now labelled "Tot-Mom" by the media, whooping it up at party after party with her friends in the all-critical one-month between the disappearance and first police contact.

I happen to agree that the prosecution proved nothing, except perhaps for my staunchly held belief in the sheer incompetence of government. Much as with O.J., the right verdict was returned, as the government failed to meet its burden of proof. I honestly believe that Casey Anthony did indeed kill her kid and danced it up afterwards, but it doesn't matter. What was proven was simply that Ms. Anthony is a depraved human being with no soul, which last time I checked, is not a crime. If she throws a "I did it and got away with it" party and invites Charlie Sheen to serve as the M.C., that's technically no crime.

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

It doesn't sound like you or anybody else in the EU is particularly familiar with this case, so let me share with you some of what we all got in a non-stop barrage in the media over the past 3 years....

-A 2 year old goes missing around mid-June, 2008. The child, Caylee lives with her mother, Casey, who lives with her mother Cindy (and her father, forget his name).
-After a month of "Idunno" answers from Casey on where the child has gotten to, the grandmother (Cindy) call local police.
-Police question the mother (Casey). Her story is that the child is with a babysitter who took off about a month ago. She doesn't want police involvement.
-Police find and impound Casey's car. When they open the trunk, a rotting smell of human decompisition wafts out (defense later stipulates this was due to garbage, not decomposition).
-Over the next couple of months, Casey changes her story about a dozen different times. All scenarios still lead her back to not wanting police involvement.
-The police finally arrest her and charge her.
-The 'slut thing'... about 6 months after being incarcerated, photos emerge of the mother, now labelled "Tot-Mom" by the media, whooping it up at party after party with her friends in the all-critical one-month between the disappearance and first police contact.

I happen to agree that the prosecution proved nothing, except perhaps for my staunchly held belief in the sheer incompetence of government. Much as with O.J., the right verdict was returned. I honestly believe that Casey Anthony killed her kid and danced it up afterwards, but it doesn't matter. What was proven was simply that Ms. Anthony is a depraved human being with no soul, which last time I checked, is not a crime. If she throws a "I did it and got away with it" party and invites Charlie Sheen to serve as the M.C., that's technically no crime.

But she still got away with it, plain and simple.

[Tellos Athenaios]

Note for political junkies: The verdict in this case is highly instructive as to why the Guantanemo detainees are a) still in Gitmo, and b) not in a civilian court.

IOW: the very fact that Gitmo detainees are still there is highly instructive as to how little of a case there is against them ?

We might see another jury which does its job properly and we can't have a working jury system now can we? What's next, actually having to provide evidence before you seize and imprison someone?

[Tellos Athenaios]

I will say again Tellos do your research more thoroughly this is getting annyoing. :P She was charged with aggravated child abuse which she was acquitted of.

I commented on that article, as I made clear from my first post in here. Still as Seamus pointed out there wasn't even enough evidence beyond reasonable doubt that it “was her wot done it” for any of those other charges.

Again, instead of screaming “where's the justice for Caylee” public outcry might be better directed into shaming the prosecution into doing their job properly. I for one am glad to see evidence and law still count for something in the US court system.

[Strike For The South]

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[Centurion1]

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thats just crude

[Strike For The South]

thats just crude

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[Crazed Rabbit]

What a damn crime that she wasn't found guilty.

A depressing look at the trail-as-entertainment culture;
http://www.popehat.com/2011/06/25/th...t-entertained/

What I’m saying may sound like a you-kids-get-off-my-lawn old-man rant, but it’s not merely a rant about entertainment culture — it’s also the impact of that culture on the criminal justice system that protects citizens from their government. The trial-as-circus ethos has any number of regrettable effects:

1. Promotion of ignorance: The circus culture encourages the media to offer sound-bite-based, exciting, controversial, and “interesting” explanations for complex issues. Those explanations are rarely complete, accurate, or fair. The media therefore promotes ignorance about the criminal justice system — the mechanism by which some of our most important rights are determined.

2. Promotion of Unquestioned Government Power: The circus culture naturally seeks swift, exciting, simple resolution — like the bad guy being caught, conclusively proved guilty, and punished in the 42 minutes of a TV drama. The media coverage encourages that attitude — and therefore encourages citizens to be impatient of anything that’s not cinematic and angry at anything that seems to interfere with a 42-minute resolution. But “swift and cinematic” favors unquestioning acceptance of government claims, not careful testing of the sufficiency of government evidence, and certainly not respect for rights or the rule of law. The trial-as-circus culture promoted by the media for its own financial benefit is all about promoting the age-old “tough on crime” mindset that constitutional and statutory rights are merely devices by which sleazy defense lawyers evade justice.

3. Promotion of Misconduct: The trial-as-circus atmosphere, with its attendant big money, brings the nuts, the con artists, and the crooks out of the woodwork. Crazy people show up claiming to be witnesses. Minor witnesses exaggerate or change what they saw in pursuit of their fifteen minutes and a book deal. Lawyers abandon their ethical duties in pursuit of a quick buck.

One of the state’s most formidable powers is its ability to imprison or even kill a citizen by accusing that citizen of a crime. Sometimes the state gets it right, and imprisons people who did what they are accused of doing. Other times the state relies on bad evidence or panic about kids, and gets it wrong. How do we know which is which? We have to respect the rule of law and rely upon competent professionals — including vigorous and capable defense attorneys — to apply it. By promoting trial-as-circus, the media and the madding crowd are undermining the rule of law. They’re doing it for money and attention (in the case of the media) and entertainment (in the case of the crowd). They ought to be ashamed of themselves.

About the verdict - we may never know what really happened. But reasonable doubt figured large in the verdict, I'd reckon.

And the verdict makes Nancy Grace, the former-prosecutor-turned-TV-show-host, and her legions of rabid moron fans seething at the mouth for convictions, really angry, which is nice. She's of the opinion that anyone charged with a crime is guilty, and juries are just some pesky obstacle to punishment for those charged with crimes.

CR

[a completely inoffensive name]

A depressing look at the trail-as-entertainment culture;
http://www.popehat.com/2011/06/25/th...t-entertained/



About the verdict - we may never know what really happened. But reasonable doubt figured large in the verdict, I'd reckon.

And the verdict makes Nancy Grace, the former-prosecutor-turned-TV-show-host, and her legions of rabid moron fans seething at the mouth for convictions, really angry, which is nice. She's of the opinion that anyone charged with a crime is guilty, and juries are just some pesky obstacle to punishment for those charged with crimes.

CR

You are my hero CR. Anytime I showed any sort of "meh" attitude toward the case or said that the jury must have had a good reason to let her go and that we don't know the whole story, I got bombarded with "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT IT IS A LOCK SOLID CASE SHE MURDERED HER PRECIOUS BABY THE NEWS SAID SO THIS IS A DISGRACE WHAT ARE YOU, SYMPATHETIC TO BABY MURDERS BSDKUJFG IL NGFBUSDFBGAZ VYJHDZFGUAS

So yeah, I agree with you, 100%, CR.

[Centurion1]

I loath Nancy Grace

[Strike For The South]

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[Samurai Waki]

The problem I have with these pictures, is that it encourages a lynch mob mentality-- Then some poor dumb bastard is going to take the law into his own hands because he feels justice has not been done, and it undermines the entire system.

[Hosakawa Tito]

If any of the jurors ever decides to 'splain their verdict I wouldn't be surprised if they felt that they didn't believe she was innocent, but that there wasn't the "beyond a reasonable doubt" of the evidence as presented by the prosecution. Capital punishment is irreversible and that sets the bar as high as it should get for proof of guilt.


She may have beaten the Florida court, but the court of public opinion is another matter. She's been living with her parents most of her life. I doubt that can continue. She has no means to support herself that I've heard of, and she appears to be a pariah within her community, if not most of the country. What will she do, where will she go?


Another thing. In all this publicity the father of Caylee was never identified or even brought up. Very odd for the media circus and feeding frenzy that this case has generated.

[Centurion1]

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Okay that one was pretty funny

[HoreTore]

I loath Nancy Grace

Is that the one parodied on Boston Legal?

[Centurion1]

Is that the one parodied on Boston Legal?

actually yes.

[HoreTore]

actually yes.

Ah. Well, I do love the parody

[Vladimir]

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I have a hard time caring about this case, but your pictures are excellent!

[Strike For The South]

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[Strike For The South]

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[drone]

You are my hero CR. Anytime I showed any sort of "meh" attitude toward the case or said that the jury must have had a good reason to let her go and that we don't know the whole story, I got bombarded with "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT IT IS A LOCK SOLID CASE SHE MURDERED HER PRECIOUS BABY THE NEWS SAID SO THIS IS A DISGRACE WHAT ARE YOU, SYMPATHETIC TO BABY MURDERS BSDKUJFG IL NGFBUSDFBGAZ VYJHDZFGUAS

So yeah, I agree with you, 100%, CR.

Indeed. No one cared about this case until Nancy Grace picked up on it, which meant for me it was a waste of the emotional effort to follow. If she's unhappy, I'm happy.

[Don Corleone]

#56.... WINNER.

This whole case again reminds me why I hate media sensationalism of criminal trials. It's like dropping a coin into a pond. Having one person walking around carefully looking and examining may lead to the discovery of the coin. Having the whole town come down and stomp around... probably never going to find it...

It stinks to high heaven, but I don't think anybody can say with any certainty at this point what actually happened to that child, except for the killer and any accomplices (assuming they exist). I don't like Casey Anthony's behavior after the Caylee disappered, but it'd be foolish to parley that into a murder conviction.

In a way, I'm glad this turned out the way it did. As CR said, the State already has it pretty easy at throwing its citizens around. We need to hang onto what few levers we have left. Burden of proof protects us all.

[Reenk Roink]