Casey Anthony Verdict

At around 2:15 yesterday afternoon, a jury returned a verdict that caused many Americans to drop their jaws in disbelief. More importantly, the verdict has forced the issue as to whether or not the criminal justice system we have in place is appropriate and effective.

Reminiscent of the OJ Simpson trial, Casey Anthony stood in front of a crowded court room as the jury exonerated her for the death of her young daughter, Caylee Anthony. Although most of us believe that there is no other plausible explanation for Caylee’s death other than Casey killing her, the jury did, in fact, uphold our justice system in making their decision.

All of the evidence against Casey Anthony was circumstancial. There was no blood on her hands, or no “smoking gun,” so to speak. Yes, Casey Anthony is a liar. Yes, Casey Anthony is a thief. Yes, Casey Anthony was a bad mother. But, does that make her a murderer? The jury thought no. The defense of Casey Anthony was that nothing actually put her at the scene of any crime, and although her actions were consistently bizarre, unprecedented, and emotionless, she could not rightfully be convicted of murder. Jose Baez, Anthony’s lead defense attorney, did his best Leonardo Dicaprio impression and successfully incepted the idea, “Something else could have happened,” in every juror’s mind.

People wonder how that panel of jurors could sit there and listen to the lies, deceit, perhaps psychotic, and abysmal behavior that Casey Anthony exhibited and then let her walk free. But, if you’re familiar with our legal system, that, unfortunately is not a pertinent query to answer. What we need to do is put aside the idea, “Well who killed her then?! What else could have happened?!” Forget about a plausible explanation. We need to look at this from a purely evidence based scenario, and there just wasn’t enough there. A smelly trunk, countless nights of partying, and making up names of babysitters are all suspicious, if not weird. But again, do these things make Casey Anthony a murderer?

Did Casey Anthony murder her baby? Probably. Will we ever know what truly happened to Caylee Anthony? Probably not. All of these probably’s are the reason that tomorrow, Casey Anthony may walk free. Nothing in the trial could be proven with a degree of certainty that left no reasonable doubt in each juror’s mind.

Unfortunately, there are only two definites in this entire case. One is that Casey Anthony is going to be a millionaire after writing a book to share her story, and the other is that Casey Anthony will never stand trial for the murder of her baby again.

Our justice system follows the wisdom of William Blackstone when he stated, “Better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.” Our system is tailored to the notion of making sure that an innocent person is not behind bars for life for a crime they didn’t commit. Casey Anthony probably wouldn’t have been relevant to this quote if the jury rendered a guilty verdict, but then again, we’ll never know.

If you have any questions or comments, do not hesitate to call our office at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@build.simple.biz.

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