Opinion
One of the Saddest Cases Ever Part II – How did we get here?
Seven hours later, I was still shocked.
I am not an attorney. Never said I was. But it seems so wrong, what happened in just under 11 hours over the past two days, in a room at the Orange County Courthouse in downtown Orlando.
Did the jury in the Casey Anthony Trial pay close enough attention to the details in this case before they returned with a not-guilty verdict on every one of the major charges against her?
Because of their relatively short deliberations, it seems to me jurors in this trial had made up their minds long ago and then, they shut down, stopped listening especially to the closing arguments.
It’s enough to make one ask, “How did we get here?” And “If Casey is truly not guilty on any of the serious charges, who is?”
Caylee was last seen alive with her mother, Casey. Casey said in a recorded phone call to her family home from jail, that police would never know what happened to Caylee unless they listened to her. All she wanted was her boyfriend Tony’s phone number so that she could talk with him, because she said she had not talked with him since earlier that morning. But what about Caylee? Her family and close friend kept asking.
Casey’s defense in the trial was that little Caylee accidentally drowned in the family pool, but her attorneys never said what happen next. Did anyone try CPR? There was no evidence that anyone called 9-1-1 to get help.
Our court system says that the defense does not have to prove anything but the prosecution has to prove everything (They have the burden of truth beyond a reasonable doubt, which can differ depending on the day of the week.)
To me, the truth of what happened to little Caylee got lost in this trial, with all the personal attacks against the defendant’s parents, brother and friends as well as innocent strangers, forensic experts, medical examiners, sheriff’s deputies and detectives.
I reluctantly reported on this trial and even attended court on June 9, when all of those very graphic pictures of the remains of little Caylee’s body were shown.
My mouth dropped this afternoon in disbelief as the clerk read the Not Guilty verdicts on the charges of murder, manslaughter and child abuse. Casey Anthony was only convicted of four counts of lying to law enforcement officers, which carries a total penalty of four years.
Some believe Casey Anthony will get credit for time served and her attorneys will ask the court to let her go free on this Thursday at the sentencing trial.
I literally have fought back tears all day. “Why?” you ask. Because for me, this is the saddest case I have ever seen. People have compared this case to the O.J. Simpson trial and verdict but this case has to do with the death of an innocent little girl.
She went missing and no one reported it for 31 days. People in the community showed up in huge crowds to look for her. Others just prayed for her safe return. Her mother told one lie after another, first to her parents, then to her brother and ultimately to police detectives. “About What?” you ask. About the whereabouts and death of little Caylee, who was 2 years old when she died and was thrown away like trash in the woods near her family’s home.
Sad, I say. It’s all very sad.
© Orlando Community News, 2011
