You hate me already. I know it. Wait a minute so I can explain.
I try not to talk about anything of substance on this blog. But I can’t help it this time. Tomorrow I’ll tell a poop story to make up for it.
It seems like the whole world is out to get Casey Anthony. I get it. A few years ago when her daughter went missing my first thought was, she knows something. After that I thought that she did it, probably by accident. Perhaps a boyfriend did it and she helped cover it up. I still think something along those lines might be true.
But what do I know? For that matter what do any of us know?
The extent of my knowledge of the law comes from reliable sources like The Closer and Law & Order. I could write a book about raising twins. I know a decent amount about Theatre. I’m a big fan of sandwiches. But when it comes to the law I can’t claim much knowledge.
The one thing I can surmise is that it is far more complicated than anything we see on TV. Bombastic and ridiculous hosts like Nancy Grace and Jane Velez Mitchell are the Howard Stern of the courtroom. The only difference is the Howard Stern audience realizes they are being entertained. We watch these legal programs and think we are getting insight into the real courtroom. We assume the hosts have an inside track and trust their information.
The reality is, they are nothing more than used car salesmen. They will say and do whatever is necessary to get you, the viewer, to keep tuning in. They were not the prosecutors or the defense in this case. They were not on the jury. They were not privy to all of the evidence, or lack of it. They don’t know anything more than what you and I know.
The fact is none of us know very much.
We know that a cute little girl died. We know that through the media and her own actions, it looks like her mother was involved. We know we want someone to pay. We want an explanation, like we always do when terrible things happen.
What we don’t know, and probably never will, is the truth.
Casey Anthony does not appear to be the best mother in the world. There are photos and posts on this blog that make it seem like I’m not either.
But I would never kill my children. I would never even think of it.
Casey Anthony appears to have motive. She wanted to party and have fun. I like to have fun too. Again, see previous posts.
I would never kill my children.
Casey Anthony appears to have had a troubled family life. Her parents seem more than a little unhinged. My parents are divorced. And remarried to new spouses. There are plenty of skeletons.
I would never kill my children.
This is not to say I think she is innocent. But, I don’t know. I don’t honestly know.
Here is what I do know. A jury of her peers. Her peers, people like you and me, found her not guilty. They did not believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she killed her daughter. They are the people who have the evidence. They said it was not enough.
It’s the beauty of our legal system. Not only do we punish those who have committed crimes, but we protect those who are innocent. That is why the prosecution, in this case the state of Florida, had to prove that she killed her daughter.
If you want to be angry at someone for the verdict, perhaps it is the prosecution you should blame. They failed to prove that she did it. The onus was on them and they failed.
The judge in the Casey Anthony case said that he fears for the lives of the jurors. That’s crazy. Imagine if you were on that jury, or any jury where a life was at stake. I hope that you would want proof. Absolute, iron-clad proof, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the defendant was guilty.
Without that, what would you do? Send a potentially innocent person to death? To life in prison?
I think this country is far better served when a few guilty people are set free than when even one innocent person is put to death. I truly believe that. Even when the crime is heinous and unimaginable to me personally.
Casey Anthony will probably pen a book. She almost has to, how else will she support herself? Would you hire her? Would you work with her? What if you walked into McDonald’s tomorrow and she was waiting to take your order? Even though she was found not guilty, what else could she do now?
I’m not saying she is innocent. But, she might be. She actually might not have done it. Regardless of how guilty she looks, she might not have done it.
Instead of focusing our energy on her, the lawyers, the judge, and the jury we should focus on the children who are still here. There are plenty of them that are being abused and murdered every day. Every single day. We can’t bring Caylee Anthony back. We can’t punish Casey Anthony for anything. She might not have done anything to deserve that punishment. She might be a victim too.
If all of the people posting and tweeting and picketing about this injustice would focus that energy on actually protecting children we might be able to make a difference. We might be able to stop another child from suffering. Maybe that could be Caylee Anthony’s legacy.
My son passed away 5 days and 14 short hours after birth. I would be too biased in this case to even make it in the door of any potential jury room.
For that reason only, I have basically ignored this case about Casey and Caylee Anthony. The most I’ve heard/read about it is here on your blog.
I am currently brat sitting my sisters 5 demon spawn and as much as they bother me and irk me and annoy me, I would never, ever entertain one single notion of hurting any one of them. Infinite time out maybe, but never bodily harm.
If Casey Anthony had ANYTHING to do with her child’s death, she needs mental help. And possibly shock treatment.
That’s all I’m going to ramble about on that.
Oh, and the poop story had better be good!
I’m sorry for your loss, Michelle.
I’m working on the poop now!
Careful about throwing around statements that someone should receive shock therapy/treatments. It’s a very painful and scary thing to go through and just because a lot of people think you’re a psycho doesn’t mean she needs that kind of therapy. That’s basically a last resort method now-a-days. In IL anyway
I am from Illinois and I suffer bi-polar disorder and anxiety attacks. I didn’t mean anything offensive about shock treatments at all towards anyone. Kelley, I’m sorry if it offended you.
I could not have said it better! I can’t believe people are threatening the jurors. It’s unbelievable. What direction is this country heading when jurors’ lives are being threatened when it was the prosecution who failed to proved their case. I knew from the beginning she would be acquitted even though I know she was involved somehow. I 100% agree that I would rather see a guilty person go free than an innocent person put to death. Bridget, awesome for speaking out!
I know, it’s scary! How do we ever expect justice when jurors are afraid of retribution?
Sorry for the late response, this comment went to spam.
I agree that the burden of proof was on the prosecution and they blew it. They tried to rush and in doing so, could not come up with the evidence needed to convict. Do I believe she is guilty?? Absolutely! Unfortunately, some guilty people go free because prosecution does not do their job.
What really ires me is that Casey and her family will now capitalize on the death of an innocent, trusting child. She will have to live with her lies and her actions , as her parents will.
I, too, hope the poop story is a good one !!
I hope the poop “story” lived up to your expectation;)
You’ve stated a very good argument for Casey Anthony and you’re right – our justice system works. It’s not perfect. But it works.
My two cents: what goes around, comes around. Look at JonBonet Ramsey, O.J. Simpson – you don’t find the truth, the truth finds you and for Casey Anthony there’s no place to hide.
Exactly. If she did do it, karma always wins.
Great post. Well said. The truest words ever spoken (or written?) are: The one thing we will never know is the truth.
The great thing about ‘Law and Order’ and its movie/book brethren, is that “all is revealed” in the final act. When the cop/lawyer/whoever confronts the guilty party, they spill their secret and tell the truth about what really happened, and why they did it. We’re so used to watching/reading this final denouement, that we expect it to happen like that in real life. In fact, we feel cheated when we don’t get our dramatic revelation. We want all the pieces to fall neatly in line to reveal the picture hidden amidst the chaos.
In real life, that doesn’t happen. And all the “journalism” (I use the word loosely) in the world isn’t going to change that. There’s only one person who knows the truth about what Casey Anthony did or didn’t do, and that person is her. Decide she’s guilty or decide she’s innocent if you must, but also take a moment to realise that your decision is based on nothing but the “facts” you’ve read, heard, or seen through the media.
Well said Jo. It’s true, we think there is some sort of solution where the guilty admit their guilt and it is neatly tied up in a bow. That’s not real life at all is it?
It makes me sad for those, possibly Ms. Anthony, who are innocent.
Very well said. Thank you for saying it. Casey Anthony will be in prison for the rest of her life, make no mistake about it. She will make money by selling her story, but she will have to pay it to the prosecution, upcoming civil suit, and to life a life a solitude and under constant guard. I don’t feel sorry for her, but I concede not knowing, and I watched most of the trial. The jurors did us all a favor by being there in our stead and taking that burdon. If they can make money from this more power to them, they sacrificed and their families will continue to sacrafice because of crazies. Let it lie.
I am very bothered by all of my spelling errors and I hate myself for not being able to let it go….sacrifice, burden…okay, purged.
Haha! I didnt’ even notice them! My spellcheck was all jammed up last night, so please let me know if you see errors in the post!!
You’re right. I never thought of it that way, the jurors took on the burden for the rest of us. We should be grateful. Instead they are afraid of retribution. Crazy.
Skipped the trial, and am currently skipping all the cyber bullies on facebook who keep posting their rants and challenging everyone to repost. The impression is that if we don’t repost, we somehow support child murder, encourage the spread of cancer, or aren’t Jesus thumpers. (Actually, that last one would be a correct interpretation of my lack of reposting.) Anyway, when will people accept that the loudest voice is not always right, volume is not a measure of truth?
As always, you are completely right and reasonable Heather. I wish we could discuss this more over dinner…:(
Oooh! Fondue and margaritas sounds good- meet you halfway?
Amen sister.
I knew you would agree BFF!
Though if your kid was missing for any length of time, you would report!
I agree with this. The whole whether or not she killed her kid isn’t certain. However, it does bother me that she didn’t bother to report her child missing. I mean it’s one thing to be excited when someone you know is watching your kid for you, but another thing when you just have no idea where your kid is.
It bothers me too. But being a bad parent is not a crime and it doesn’t mean you are guilty of murder. That’s the point, all of these things add up to guilt, but don’t prove guilt. It has to be proven or I fear, we are all doomed.
I think through all of this, we need to draw attention to her hair. Her freakishly fast growing hair. At least she has that.
I know! It makes me want to be locked up for 3 years. But only if they serve wine.
I posted my uncomfortableness about the people’s reaction on my blog. It is all very sad. I like what you had to say, and applaud you for saying it.
[...] Posted on July 9, 2011 | by Bridget | No Comments If you don’t know why I promised poop today you’ll need to read the post from yesterday, found here. [...]
We’ll never know she did it unless she confesses, and even then how would we know it’s the truth? I don’t think even her own family trusts her at this point. She’s most likely lost all of her friends. She may have a few supporters on her side, but she will spend the rest of her life in her own prison. Like you said, no one will hire her, rent to her or associate with her. If I were a waitress and she came into my restaurant and sat in my section, I wouldn’t wait on her. The only crime she’s guilty of, IMO, is not reporting her daughter missing. If your child is missing and you know it, why would you party and live your life as if nothing is wrong? She seemed to have no guilt about this.
She knows something. Not reporting her missing child for a month and lying about her whereabouts, making up names or using a previous babysitters name is proof enough of that. Or whatever name she used. She knows how her daughter died. I have my own belief about what really happened but of course that’s just pure speculation.
I just pray Caylee gets justice soon.
I agree, not reporting her missing is insane. But, being a bad parent is not a crime. Not reporting her missing does not mean that she murdered her. It is all suspect to me too, but suspicions aren’t enough are they?
[...] flurry of mob-mentality hate-mongering, it was great to read the balanced viewpoint put forward in Defending Casey Anthony on [...]
Since alot of you didn’t follow the trial let me fill you in. Casey’s lawyer said that Caylee drowned in the family swimming pool. Her grandfather George found her and instead of performing cpr and calling 911 like a retired law enforcement officer would know to do he laid the body down in front of Casey and screamed look what you’ve done now you’ll spend the rest of you life in jail for neglect. George then proceeded to get rid of the body and because he is a bad person with no fatherly instinct he let his only daughter stay in jail for almost 3 years and face the death penalty instead of just telling the police what happened. Casey-who by her own lawyers admission knew Caylee was dead- told no one about this and continued lying to everyone she could that at first she had Caylee with her, then the Zanny the nanny forcibly kidnapped her. Caylee also told her mother and the police who were still looking for the now deceased Caylee, that Casey had talked to Caylee on the phone and she knew she was alright. And also Casey NEVER reported Caylee missing she kept lying over and over to her parents where Caylee was and after they stopped believing her BS. Cindy found her and forcibly dragged her from her bf house where she was staying and demanded to see Caylee right away then she told her mother Cindy that Zanny the nanny kidnapped her a month ago. Cindy then called the police and reported Caylee missing. This is not about her being a bad mother this is about her covering up Caylee’s death. Everyone keeps saying that she didn’t report her missing for 31 days. She and her laywer admit that Caylee was already dead for those 31 days, she wasn’t missing she was dead and Casey knew that and kept on lying and partying without a car in the world. Caylee was found 15 houses down from where she and Casey lived wrapped up in items found from her house with duct tape wrapped around her head. There was no dna because she was left in a swamp during hurricane Fay and all the florida elements to decompose for 6 months. If all that confuses you as to why 2/3 of america think she’s guilty of murder then that’s fine.
I didn’t think jurors were allowed to talk about the case. Oh wait, right, you weren’t a juror, just some crazy bird who watches too much Nancy Grace.
You don’t know bupkis about what happened and are drawing conclusions based on what has been released to the media, as well as assuming the media got 100% of the details correct.
Also, regarding: “partying without a car in the world” I think you have your info wrong as I believe they found some evidence in her trunk, so unless the judicial system has taken up ebonics, I believe she had at least one “car in the word”.
Troll elsewhere.
I believe they also found some junk in her trunk (sorry, I had to).
Who’s trolling? There was questions asked and I was answering them. And the jurors area allowed to talk about the case while deliberating so not sure what your point is there. And sorry I meant to type care in the world not car obviously. You didn’t have to watch nancy grace or be a “crazy bird” to know the details of the case because the trial was televised. you could see everything the jury saw besides the graphic photos of caylee’s remains. i’m NOT a fan of nancy grace by any stretch, I can’t stand the woman but this whole idea that only the jury knows what happened in the case is idiotic. You didn’t have to wait until someone described what happened you could see it all yourself. Name calling won’t change that fact but hey, your girl got away with it be happy about it!
This is the problem Danielle, we don’t “know” that any of that happened. We don’t have proof. You can’t send someone to death without proof. Even if 2/3 of America thinks she is guilty, it doesn’t mean that she actually is guilty.
Hmmm … are we allowed to have rational, nuanced ideas about Casey Anthony on the web? Doesn’t this break a rule?
I’m wild and crazy like that.
This is a hard one to comment on. Whatever the opinions are about the judicial system or the mother…at the end of the day, lest we forget that there is the profound sadness for the loss of an innocent little girl.
I like this post.
I will say, based on my work experience, that prosecutors do their best with what they have – they are not incompetent or evil [for the most part]. They are bound by the law and are sworn to uphold the law. They do what they can and trust the jury [which, most lawyers hate juries - not to disparage the people who serve on juries, it's just a crapshoot].
There are bad parents. Truly horrific bad parents. And there are not-so-good parents who make mistakes. You don’t know what happened, I don’t know what happened. I can be judgy, but I try not to.
Thank you.
I wonder if the prosecution knew that there was not much hard evidence and hoped emotion would play a part in they jurors decision. Or, did they think they really had a case. Or did they just go with what they had, because it was all they could do.
I don’t think we will ever know what happened. Even if she admitted something, I don’t know if I would believe it.
Since I live in Austria, this case would have never reached me if it wasn’t for you, Mrs. Twinisms ;o) It was very interesting to collect all the information on the internet, without being forced to believe anything by tv. It is indeed a very interesting case! I personally think, no mother in her right mind would let 31 days pass without reporting her child’s missing to the police. Apart from this, if this drowning in the pool thing taken as the explanation for her death and the family is really twisted enough to feel the need of hiding a deadly accident from the authorities — what was the duct tape for??? If a child drowns accidently in the family pool, why on earth would someone place duct tape over her nose and mouth and seal it up with a hert shaped sticker? Should that be some sort of weird message, like: Out of love, I’d never tell our little secret?
I would really like to know how Jose Baez explains the duct tape in his version of the story, but I didn’t find his statement according this. Do you know what he said about that?
I didn’t watch the trial. I don’t even like that trials are broadcast. My understanding though is they could not prove the duct tape was actually there, or the heart. I might be wrong. Seems like with all of the forensic technology we have they would be able to figure that out. Perhaps that’s the problem.
I agree, no mother in her right mind would not report. Clearly, Casey Anthony has some issues. I’m just not sure they prove she murdered her child. I wish there was proof, I really do.