Blog 7:Editorial

change.org - Caylee's Law

Caylee Marie Anthony was born on August 9, 2005 and was last seen with her mother on June 16, 2008 and reported missing on July 18, 2008 by her grandmother.  Caylee’s skeletal remains were found not far from the home on December 11, 2008. 

Her mother Casey was arrested on various charges during 2008; however on October 14, 2008 she was indicted by a grand jury on charges of first degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and four counts of providing false information to police

On April 13, 2009, prosecutors announced that they planned to seek the death penalty in this case.

The trial lasted for five weeks and concluded with a not guilty verdict on all charges with the exception of four counts of providing false information to police.  This verdict outraged a large percentage of the population that immediately began to criticize the judicial system and the jurors in this case. 

I am one of the many who will disagree with the verdict and I am very disappointed that the accused is now free to enjoy the rest of her life and has to option to bear additional children.  I am a supporter of the proposed “Caylee’s Law” and I firmly believe that any person suspected of being missing should be reported to the appropriate authorities as soon as practical.

This verdict has not encouraged me to lose faith in our judicial system or the many men and women who are taken from their families and sequestered to serve on a jury.  It is very difficult for jurors to convict some one of first degree murder and send some to death.  The jurors did an excellent job during deliberations and although many may believe that the accused is guilty, Casey was to be convicted by evidence and not by what so many people “believe”.

The death was ruled a homicide and the cause of death listed as undetermined.     There were many pieces of evidence such as the duct tape and odor in Caseys’ car, however the prosecution failed to present this case in such a manner that would lead them to a conviction. 

I am confident that with the evidence provided, the prosecution would have been able to get a conviction on a lesser charge that would still have had Casey spend the rest of her life in jail.

In conclusion, I urge everyone to maintain faith and belief in our system.  It is a good system that ensures everyone to a fair trial. 

 I chose this topic because I believe that the Casey Anthony verdict was not due to a poor judicial system or the lack of knowledge of jurors, but that the prosecution failed to present the case in a manner of which would have resulted in a first degree conviction. Shortly after the verdict was revealed on national television I read many comments and posts on Facebook and through other social media criticizing the system and the jurors. I believe the jurors did an excellent job in providing a verdict based on the evidence provided and what is fact rather than their own beliefs and what we have all seen through the media. Regardless of what we believe everyone is subject to a fair trial and conviction as a result of evidence. I also believe that with the evidence provided perhaps another murder charge may have resulted in a conviction. This conviction may have resulted in life in prison. The media also may have been an influence in the results of this trial. Often times in the past, trial with media publicity such as this has been very difficult to get conviction; such as the Simpson Trial.