A few weeks back I did mention the Casey Anthony murder case (click here)
Now y'all has heard all the tawkin' haids yak on an' on about it.
Everybody in this town is flappin' their jaws. Shriekin' at each other about whether justice is served. The shock over the "not guilty" verdict is profound. A chile is daid, it's clear her mama did it, whaddaya' mean she walks??
Aunty is in the camp that say the jury did right. Doan freak out--hear me out. Please.
First the jury deliberated for jes' 10 hours or so--this means they's purty much in agreement from the git-go. This is meaningful. Them jurors had a decent grasp on the law that could be applied.
An' thas' the key--the law that could be applied.
Wif' out all the recap that ya's prolly seen I ain't gonna bore ya. But I hope ya has heard or seen that the prosecution jes' din't do the job. First, the idjits did not charge Casey wif' CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE. All the counts were fer murder or manslaughter or child abuse.
It's very likely that baby died accidentally an' her mama panicked an' disposed of her. It is likely Casey went partying leavin' the chloroformed chile asleep came back found the chile' daid an' then buried her. An' went off to party fer a month. It's horrific. Disgustin'. Sickenin'.
Casey 's lifestyle an' personality are simply off-putting in the extreme. But that ain't murder.
The fault here is that the prosecution went for a murder verdict an' overlooked the obvious: Criminal Neglect. The prosecution relied on the horror an' emotion of this case--a precious baby chile wif' a winning smile ends her 2 years in a bag in the swamp--it seemed a slam dunk fer the state: who wouldn't convict the wacko mother? So they grew sloppy. (as the dinner party atty
suggested --the prosecution flubbed it early on an "the girl will walk")
But the prosecution could not say HOW, WHEN , WHERE the chile' died. The evidence fer cause of death is NOT there. When ya' cain't say HOW, ya' cain't prove murder. This means that the jury had no charges in the long list that could be applied by law, or in justice, "beyond a reasonable doubt." Notice though, the jury isn't sayin' Casey is innocent, they's sayin' the prosecution did not prove the murder charge. Thas' the American legal protection--innocent until PROVEN guilty.
If the prosecution had added criminal neglect to the list of 7 charges, then Casey would have been judged guilty of that.
It's hard to hear, but the jury done the right thang in this case.
16 comments:
I concur. Also, in this day of forensic science, there was NONE that led to the Mother. Or anyone. It's sad, it's horrible but as you said; it's not murder by definition of the law. But holy moly is this case holding our country's attention.... which I wish the media gave just as much attention to more important things.
Auntie, I'm totally with you on this also. They know the end result but nothing was presented that PROVED beyond a doubt who did it and how that body was put where it ended up. I am familiar with how jury instructions are worded and they can be tricky in that they make a gray world turn black and white. If abc happened, then the law says you must find xyz. Plus the one defense attorney who had the chart showing the burden of proof ... that was genius. That's when I knew she was going to get off.
HOWEVER, something in me also thinks that the whole family is in it together. I don't believe that Cindy was stone-faced as the verdict was delivered. #1, you couldn't see much of her because another person was in the way; but #2, I swear I saw her give a happy little smirk. Then they walked out. Hmmmmmmm. So glad I didn't watch this thing from the beginning.
Our justice system, right or wrong, is based on the presumption of innocence and it is up to the prosecution to prove the case. They did not. Plain and simple.
Boxer-Babe,
Yes, ain't it weird how the nation is riveted on this? A baby killed is dreadful, a mama that killed her is so macabre that folks is stunned.
This family..? I doan even know what to say. Mercy.
PamOKC
eggsactly. It warn't proved. An' I thnk youse really put yore finger on it--the family knows more than they is sayin'. How many writers ya' reckon is already novel-izin this story? Tryin' out all kinds of theories?
what galls me is to think Casey will now git all kinds of book an' movie offers--gag.
Fortunately, Casey's own heart and mind will find her guilty every day of her pitiful existence.
FACTS:
The Judge and the Prosecutor were both incompetent Democrat Party hacks who allowed/introduced all sorts of crap that the jury found absurd.
I.E. The "sniffer machine" that's never been allowed in any USA courtroom as "evidence". Claiming Casey searched for Chloroform 64 times when it was ONCE. Claiming Chloroform was the murder weapon. Lots of other mistakes.
LESSON: Get rid of all Democrat prosecutors and judges.
Bright Side: Hopefully, incompetent boob Democrat Prosecutor will lose his election in November.
Troll's Theory:
Casey gave baby SOMETHING OTHER THAN CHLORAFORM (gin, vodka, adult nyquil etc...) as an experiment on Thursday Night so she could go out slutting around all night.
Casey stumbles in a 4:00. Baby sleeping and appears fine.
Casey does the same thing Friday Night. Same result.
Casey does the same thing Saturday Night. Baby dead when she returns home.
Casey knows a quick autopsy will show the substance (gin,vodka, etc..) and list it as cause-of-death. So, she hides the body. And wants to wait as long as possible to announce the baby is missing.
If you remember aunti, I was fairly clueless about this case until you blogged about. Yesterday, when the verdict came to my attention I decided perhaps I should know a little bit about this case since some folks around here were so incensed about the outcome. so, I went to wikipedia to read about it .. :) and I found out she didn't report the child missing until a month later? What??? She needs to be charged with neglect i thought as I continued reading.
I asked the young adults (20 year old oldest son and 19 year old girlfriend) who were also in the kitchen if they had heard of the case. Nope, they said. Anyway, I explained the case as based on the little reading I had just done. You know what this 19 year old said? You would have thought they would also charge her with neglect.
ack .. the spelling, etc ...
i really ought to use preview.
Debora,
you are more than right. There is no escaping the head ya lay on the pillow every night--her own heart an' mind will never escape what wuz done.
Troll,
Ain't it the truth? The smeller machine?? gimme a royal break--who would fall fer such shenanigans?
The prosecutor retired this mornin' so he could make a guest appearance on The View. The skank that is irritatin' me the most is
Judge Jenine --puh-lease, lady. Her sputterin' angry snarky "Oh this is a CSI age an' unless ya have finger prints an DNA an' a video of the murder the jury won't convict" cain't cover over the the truth that the prosecution did a terrible job. She oughta be embarrassed by the horrid incompetence of the prosecution. An' the medical examiner TV woman is also furious--again, who wouldn't be, but when ya cain't say HOW the baby died then ya cain't prove no "murder" it could be accidental.
I git that women lawyers is outraged--they are mamas too an the idea that Casey walks after killin' or neglectin' that baby chile is wretched--jes' wretched. But, looky, wretched ain't how we judge in the nation. The case failed on merit--the case NOT proved.
What on earth could the jury do? convict on emotion? on presumption? God hep us when juries is allowed to return verdicts based on emotion or presumption.
Troll, I reckon yore theory be real close to truth--tho prolly jes' one night--thas' all it took to OD the poor baby. Thang is , the body showed no signs of abuse--no broken bones or compression fractures or malnutrition. To the point of her death little Caylee wuz not harmed that forensics could find.
Foamy,
wow--that 19 year ole is a smart thang. Eggsactly--the prosecution wuz so positive that they had a capital case heah, that they FAILED to add in the neglect charge --idjits!
That the baby wuz not reported for a MONTH means jes' what everyone figgered out--she meant to put the chile to sleep so she could party, baby died, she covered it up as long as she could. Foamy, the prosecutors jes' overplayed their hand.
Lemme also say the sheriff's department never went to find the body until after the 3rd call from the utilities fella. The incompetence of the "experts" is part of why the case failed.
What a mess.
well i gotta say, i was very disturbed by the not guilty verdict but I didnt really know anything about the case since i didnt watch it. that is one skanked out family. and that girl is going to have a very unpleasant life - God willin' - conveniently the prosecutor will retaire. why? maybe he can go work for eric holder. they are about on the same par.
this whole thing makes me sick. how many little kids go missing every year in Murka?
books, tv, movies. that will be the worst outcome of all.
Aunty,
I made it here by not using the link on my blogroll. Perhaps that is where my Internet Exploder issues were.
You make a good case without any partisan politics needed.
She's disgusting. The whole family is creepy, but cases have to be tried in a courtroom, using rules, and by a jury, not the media.
I think Troll is right and I think the drug of choice was Xanax; hence the Zanny the Nanny reference. Yes, the prosecution should have kept with the simple facts and hammered them home. And it isn't only Casey who will make money after the fact, the defense attorneys will each write a book, the prosecutors, the investigators. Everyone will have a book and movie deal. Ack. Disgusting.
I agree with Pam and disagree with Aunty. You CAN convict without proving how the victim died. Happens all the time with COMPETENT non-democrat Prosecutors. Competent prosecutors can and do get convictions with NO BODY.
Step One: Pick a good jury.
Step Two: Explain HONESTLY to the jury that a precise cause-of-death can't be determined. And that the killer shouldn't benefit because they were lucky enough to keep the body hidden past the point where an autopsy could be probative.
Step Three: Make sure the rest of your evidence makes sense and is presented honestly and clearly.
Step Four: Don't giggle like a demented 7-year-old when the Defense Attorney is making his closing statement.
Voila! Conviction!
Happens every day with less evidence, motive and opportunity.
I think you are spot on. I served on a jury several years ago for a rape case involving a minor girl and an uncle. It was a wrenching trial to sit through. The judge's charge to the jury is so specific and the beyond a reasonable doubt is such an unbelievably heavy burden to deal with. We found him not guilty, the state did not prove its case according to the letter of the law. It was a very profound and troubling experience, I can imagine this jury struggled as well.
K9,
I know...I know. It is sickening. Very disturbing. But what we know is that wherever she goes this follows her. How would you live with a face recognized as a child killer?
FC,
ya make a great point--this case was decided by a jury not the media--an' that is drivin' the media berserk, jes' drivin' 'em crazy.
PamOKC,
it puts my teeth on edge to think all them attys gettin' huge book deal--hope nobody buys the books, but ...they will. The voyeur society. Gag!
Troll,
think ya could moonlight as a consultant to prosecution teams--tell 'em what time it is!
Caroline,
Oh no --it would turn mah stomach to let that rapist go--repulsive. Very hard to apply the law, but unless we DO apply the law strictly, then innocent people are at risk. The question might be put this way: how many innocent would you allow to be convicted in order to be sure the rapists child killers can never slip through the system?
Oh I is so troubled, but I reckon at the end, Casey cain't have much "freedom" as this nightmare will never go away>
Spot on, Aunty.
The best thing about this case, I think, is that after the emotional dust settles, we will see it as an example of just how well our justice system DOES work. And that so-called average men and women, when tasked with something as seemingly insurmountable and horrifying as this, can remain cool and collected and do the right thing and honor the letter of the laws upon which we operate. Let's also hope that prosectutors and judges across the country take a good, hard look at themselves, too.
Thankfully, I don't think there is a person who's heard of this trial that doesn't hate this woman. We all know who she is, what a piece of work her entire family is, and what they did to that poor little girl. They'll pay in the end.
And I only have one more thing to add: It's called birth control, ladies. USE IT.
I have avoided all forms of news media for weeks because of this farce.
I can tell you this, from having been a key witness in a trial, from having once served on a jury and from having to spend a fortune to correct the damaging effects of a data entry error by an indifferent, unskilled , government employee ...
that "justice" is a concept, not a reality.
This revolting spectacle showed not one second of respect for the child.
Fishy
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