Posted on 07/10/2011 8:46:37 AM PDT by Kaslin
Casey Anthony's acquittal of the killing of her precious child, Caylee, has shocked the nation. Many who watched the trial on TV – and who were not constrained from taking into account inadmissible evidence, the punditry of various talking heads, or the overwhelming public sentiment against Ms. Anthony – have been critical of the jury's verdict. Among those most vehement in their condemnation of the jury are TV notables Bill O'Reilly and Nancy Grace. Their indignation is shared by those who feel the verdict represented a gross miscarriage of justice.
Cases like this call the value of trial by jury into question for some. But critics should take some important points into consideration: In American jurisprudence, an accused wrongdoer is presumed innocent. The burden is on the prosecution to prove guilt beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt. The jury is not permitted to consider evidence that doesn't reach a certain threshold of reliability and they aren't permitted to take into account matters outside the evidence. They aren't entitled to discuss the case among themselves, or even form an opinion about the case, until all the evidence is in. They can't discuss the case with anyone other than their fellow jurors, and if any reasonable doubt exists about the crime(s) charged, they cannot convict. It is not enough for the jury to "know" that the accused is guilty as charged. The charges must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Most freedom loving people agree that these are important safeguards which must be met before one accused of a crime can be deprived of their life or liberty.
Trial by jury is not a recent phenomenon. It dates back over a thousand years, and its use has been documented in a variety of civilizations. The right to trial by jury has been particularly prominent in the American system of law and justice. When the Founders enumerated their grievances in the Declaration of Independence, King George's denial to the colonists of the right to trial by jury was in the forefront of their complaints. George Mason famously refused to sign the Constitution unless the right to trial by jury was made explicit. Thomas Jefferson made clear the value he placed on juries when he said, "I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its Constitution." Its importance is highlighted by the fact that the right to trial by jury is expressly referenced in not one, but three of the amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights.
As Americans, we tend to take the right to trial by jury for granted; but it should not difficult to imagine the horror of living in a society in which the State possesses absolute power. Millions of people around the world live in societies that don't allow for trial by jury. When they are accused of wrongdoing, they aren't afforded an opportunity to defend themselves. No jury of their peers decides their guilt or innocence. Their lives and freedom are subject to the whims of those who hold power. Their tribunals – if they exist at all – are mere kangaroo courts which serve only as an eye wash. "Verdict first, trial later" is their modus operandi. Even here in America there was a time when perverted justice prevailed, when the word of a single white man could spell death for a politically and legally powerless African American.
This is why the right to trial by jury is essential.
Our Founding Fathers recognized that the collective judgment of ordinary people, while not perfect, is the most reliable, most just method of resolving conflicts in America's courtrooms. Does the jury system and its protections mean that sometimes the guilty will go free? The answer is yes. Alan Dershowitz addressed this in a recent article discussing the Casey Anthony verdict:
"For thousands of years, Western society has insisted that it is better for 10 guilty defendants to go free than for one innocent defendant to be wrongly convicted. This daunting standard finds its roots in the biblical story of Abraham's argument with God about the sinners of Sodom. Abraham admonishes God for planning to sweep away the innocent along with the guilty and asks Him whether it would be right to condemn the sinners of Sodom if there were 10 or more righteous people among them. God agrees and reassures Abraham that he would spare the city if there were 10 righteous. From this compelling account, the legal standard has emerged."
A justice system that allows for the possibility of the guilty going free is undoubtedly unpalatable for those who wish to see Caylee Anthony's death avenged, but it is a standard that recognizes and upholds the notion that life and liberty should not be deprived without due process of law. It's not a perfect system, but none better has yet been devised by man.
The mother is guilty at the very least, of either knowing what happened to the child and not saying, or of not having any interest in finding her when she went missing for 31 days. Do you find this odd or suspicious behavior?
Oh... that’s prefect...lol
Oh... that’s perfect...lol
The jury foreman is suppose to be on Greta tomorrow night, that should be interesting.
“When your dog is missing you look for it for a month, when your child is missing you call 9-11 immediately.”
Exactly!
Doesn’t matter; jury found her not guilty so all the little details that add up don’t matter any more; I don’t know why I keep posting on these threads. All it is is we know shes guilty but jury said innocent so shes innocent etc. So lets just shrug and move on, nothing we can do about it. Hopefully she won’t breed anymore.. if she does I forsee another dead child.
The judge reads the instructions in open court. Some states provide every juror with their own copy. From the juror comments I heard, they were definitely confused about the burden of proof. Defense attorneys try to convince juries it’s an impossible burden.
“Defenders also routinely make the intellectually lazy step of assuming that because the jury acquited that it’s somehow given the crime wasn’t proven. Again, false assumption. The jury could have, and did in this case, ignored the evidence to reach its decision. “
The jury couldn’t get out of that courtroom fast enough. They obviously believed what Baez threw against the wall saying it was an accident with NO EVIDENCE.
Charges against Casey Anthony:
Count One, First Degree Murder: If Casey Anthony is convicted of first degree murder, regardless of whether it is on a theory of Pre-meditated Murder or Felony Murder she will receive at a minimum a life sentence. A life sentence in Florida is a true life sentence, which means there is no parole or early release. A defendant convicted of first degree murder only leaves prison after his or her death. The only alternative to a life sentence is death by execution.
Lesser Included of Count One, Second Degree Murder: (depraved mind murder, not premeditated) The maximum penalty for Second Degree Murder is a life sentence. The minimum sentence is based on the Criminal Punishment Code. The estimated minimum sentence for this charge and other charges which might result in conviction along with this count would be 24 years, 6 months.
Count Two, Aggravated Child Abuse: The maximum penalty for aggravated child is 15 years in prison. The estimated minimum sentence for this charge and other charges which might result in conviction along with this count would be 12 years, 1 month.
Count Three, Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child: If Casey Anthony is convicted of causing the death of Caylee by culpable negligence the maximum sentence is 30 years in prison. The estimated minimum sentence for this charge and other charges which might result in conviction along with this count would be 16 years and 6 months.
Counts Four Through Seven, Giving False Information to a Law Enforcement Officer in Reference to a Missing Person: The charge in these four counts carries a maximum of one year in county jail for each count. As a result if convicted of all four of these counts, Casey Anthony could receive a sentence of four years if the sentence for each count is run consecutively.
The story of the meter reader is another interesting tale. The deputy that showed up in August to check out the meter reader’s report waded around in mud, supposedly got his shoes and pants muddy- didn’t find anything and chewed out the meter reader for calling. Supposedly later the body was found about 8 feet from where the deputy was walking in the mud. My question is why was the meter reader that far out in the mud to relieve himself? Why couldn’t he show the deputy exactly what he called him about? The meter reader seemed to be pretty sure there was a body there from August on and yet didn’t make enough fuss to get someone involved that would do something? Strange little side story.
It’s not that I think the meter reader was involved in her death- it is just odd. Maybe he was actually looking for Caylee’s body and was walking in mud and what not for that reason, but why did he not admit to that? Many people were looking for her so why would that be a mystery?
Except for the FACT that Casey drove her car around with a dead body in the trunk while telling everyone she didn’t know where her daughter was.
Her cellphone pinged several times where Caylee was dumped. Her mother washed her pants that smelled like decomp. A strand of Caylee’s hair with a death band was found in the trunk of her car. dogs alerted on her car, many people including her mother smelled decamp “in the damn car”. I guess all that EVIDENCE is huge conspiracy to get Casey.
common sense goes a long way...
But, that’s okay, the little attention whore will be back in court, just like OJ, count on it.
If the jury felt there was reasonable doubt Casey killed Caylee, then at the very least she was guilty of this charge. If I had been on the jury I would have fought tooth and nail and Casey would either be convicted of at least Count Two or it would be a hung jury. The jurors that voted guilty initially had no guts and caved after a short time. That baby's life wasn't even worth more than a few more hours of their time. So sad. Not reporting your child missing for a month and partying the whole time may not prove you murdered the child but it sure is child abuse. If she knew her child wasn't missing then she had to have some part in her death or cover up, I don't see how that jury found her not guilty on all charges.
Did you listen to the talking head shows?
Are you considering evidence the jury wasn’t presented?
Are you unable to take in information and recognize it wasn’t part of the jury presentation and discount it?
Aren’t you able to come to a reasonable conclusion?
I didn’t watch those shows at all.
Look, there are simpletons out there, but there are also reasoned people out there that have come to the conclusion this woman is guilty.
Those folks are not simpletons because they see through he Casey defense. I’m tired of seeing them dismissed as simpletons.
But far from proof of first degree muder.
Your conjecture is quite possibly true.
But not proof of first degree murder
The next charge the jury could have found 25-year-old Casey Anthony guilty of. It carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. Juror No. 2 believed the mother was guilty of “culpable negligence” as required of that charge. He wasn’t alone.
The vote on Tuesday was 6-6 for manslaughter. The two sides hardened. They started talking over one another. The jury foreman calmed them all down.
Here the defense’s theory was key: They told the jury that Caylee accidentally drowned and the family tried to cover it up. But the defense also accused George Anthony of sexually abusing his daughter Casey — a charge he denied. The defense said the abuse trained Casey Anthony to lie and live in denial.
The jury didn’t believe anything George Anthony said on the stand, according to Juror No. 2.
But more importantly to the jurors who opposed the manslaughter charge, no one could say who was Caylee’s caretaker — the mother or the grandparents — when the child actually died.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/fl-anthony-verdict-forum-20110710,0,5720174.story
GEORGE ANTHONY BACK TO DEPOSITING MONEY IN CASEY’S JAIL ACCOUNT
Somehow, Casey’s parents continue to give her money to purchase snacks and personal items in jail. Cindy deposited $100 into her jail money account on July 10th. Her father made a trip to the jail to on July 7th ,depositing $140. In the past, George had stopped depositing money into her account allegedly due to Casey’s sexual abuse allegations.
What is Casey buying:
According to jail records for the month of February 2011, Casey has been ordering a lot of pens. In February 2011, Casey placed two orders for a total of 20 pens. Among items purchase by Casey recently are Shampoo & Conditioner, Black Pens, Letter Pads, Pony Tail Holders, Bottled Water, Tootsie Rolls, Nacho Chips, BBQ Chips, Jolly Ranchers, Peanut Butter, and Jalapeno Nacho Dip
Yes it should.
We didn’t know how she died, we didn’t know when she died,” said Juror No. 2, who was one of the 10. “Technically, we didn’t even know where she died.
“You couldn’t say who did it. To me, that’s why it was aggravated manslaughter of a child.”
The next vote was on just that charge, aggravated manslaughter of a child. The vote was 6-6 for manslaughter. The two sides hardened. They started talking over one another. The jury foreman calmed them all down.
“The six that voted guilty said it didn’t matter at what point in time she came home and found out her daughter was missing,” he said. “She had to report it in some way, shape or form, and that’s where the negligence came in.”
But some jurors, he said, had decided not to convict Casey Anthony of any charge in the girl’s death. By lunch Tuesday, the guilty side started to lose votes.
Juror No. 2 was the last holdout. Deliberations lasted for 11 hours over two days. They filed into court at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday to hand over their verdict.
******
Juror No. 2 remembers when he sat down with his fellow jurors on Monday. Finally, they could talk about the trial that had consumed six weeks of their lives – six long, isolating weeks. Finally, those in the jury room could ask themselves the question the rest of the world wanted answered:
Was Casey Anthony guilty of first-degree murder?
“Everybody agreed if we were going fully on feelings and emotions,” the juror said, “she was done.”
But the Pinellas County jury knew that this was not a case that was to be decided based on emotions and they had to work very hard to keep that element out of their deliberations.
“We just wanted to go on the evidence that was presented to us,” he said.
“I just swear to God …,” he said, his voice falling silent, overcome by tears. “I wish we had more evidence to put her away. I truly do …
“But it wasn’t there.”
Juror No. 2 is dreading the media attention.
“I just want to be left alone,” he said.
He is emotionally exhausted, relying on friends and family to help him recover. But then the father of two thinks about the photos of Caylee’s remains.
“For me it was not a good outcome,” said Juror No. 2, his voice breaking. “Those pictures … I’ll probably never forget them.
“To think that somebody would do that to a child.”
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