The burden was on prosecutors to prove their theory: that Anthony suffocated her daughter by placing duct tape on her mouth and nose, wrapped her in a Winnie the Pooh blanket and black trash bags, kept the body in the car’s trunk until the odor was too strong, and then dumped it in the woods near her house.
Legal analysts agreed that prosecutors could not tie Anthony definitively to Caylee’s death. Prosecutors had no DNA, hair samples or other physical evidence that would do so. They introduced controversial forensic techniques, such as an air-sampling method never before used in a criminal court case. The researcher who pioneered the technique said the smell of decomposition filled the trunk of Anthony’s car. A defense witness countered that the smell could have come from food that had been found rotting in the trunk.
Anthony’s attorney, Jose Baez, created reasonable doubt when he said Caylee drowned accidentally and that her grandfather, Casey’s father, helped cover it up and dispose of the body. He also claimed that George Anthony had sexually abused Casey when she was a child. George Anthony denied both accusations. The fact that Casey Anthony was told about the drowning theory in jail by her own mother and that this is where she got the idea for such a defense was also brought up by the prosecution.
Prosecutors spent half of their case depicting Anthony as a liar and a bad mother, but that didn’t prove she killed her daughter, said Donald Jones, a professor at the Miami School of Law. “The jurors can’t look at this case as a soap opera or a reality show,” Jones said. “They had to put their emotions aside and look at the evidence. And they saw there wasn’t any.”
Here’s my theory for what its worth. I believe that Casey Anthony used the chloroform to knock her daughter out for a few hours so she could party the night away. Unfortunately the little girl could have suffered a chemical reaction and tragically died. Ms. Anthony panicked and with or without the assistance of her father placed duct tape over the little girl’s mouth and buried her in the woods at the rear of her parents’ house to make it look like murder.
The defense attorney claimed the little girl drowned in the family swimming pool and Ms. Anthony’s dad helped her dispose of the body. If that was the case, wouldn’t it have been simpler to admit to the authorities that the little girl accidentally drowned as a result of careless neglect?
The defense team trotted out several witnesses who claimed that Casey Anthony was a caring and loving mother, but what kind of mother allows 31 days to elapse before she reports her daughter missing? To add insult to injury the taxpayer paid for Ms. Anthony’s defense.
I am convinced that America should introduce a law preventing the televising of criminal trials. In recent times there have been four highly publicized trials placed on television for the world to see: O. J. Simpson, William Kennedy Smith, Michael Jackson and now Casey Anthony. All four defendants were acquitted which begs the question of whether defense attorneys are better lawyers than their prosecuting counterparts because they are invariably better paid, or is it because the burden of proof lays firmly on the shoulders of the prosecution?
I was emotionally involved in the conclusion of this case because I have two young granddaughters each of whom is less than two years old, and equally as cute looking as little Caylee Anthony. I cannot help feeling that Ms. Anthony’s parents are complicit in the death of this poor child, and I cannot comprehend how they or their daughter can live with themselves.
I knew it wouldn’t take long before someone introduced a civil case on the back of this trial, and lo behold a civil trial has been set for August 29, 2011. Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez, “Zanny the nanny” who wasn’t, filed a defamation suit seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is alleging that Ms. Anthony willfully damaged her reputation, and it was reported that Anthony would exercise her rights under the Fifth Amendment in response to written questions in the civil case.
One crumb of comfort may emerge as a result of this trial. Various movements have arisen for the creation of a new law, “Caylee’s Law” that would impose stricter requirements on parents to notify law enforcement of the death or disappearance of a child. Lawmakers in four states (Florida, Oklahoma, New York and West Virginia) have begun drafting versions of “Caylee’s Law.”
Let’s reflect a few moments before closing. The Cable TV networks were ecstatic with the ratings achieved by televising the trial; shame on them! Late night talk show hosts, like Jay Leno and Bill Maher, were making jokes about the verdict only a matter of hours after it was announced; shame on them too!
Following the verdict, the State Attorney and County Sheriff made statements praising their staffs for their work in this case. Are you kidding me? A little girl died violently and according to the verdict we are none the wiser who was responsible. The evidence and case produced by the authorities was at best circumstantial and naïve. At worst it was unprofessional, melodramatic and woeful; shame on them also.
Acknowledging the defense lawyer was successful in convincing the jury that the grandfather was implicated in the death of Caylee Anthony, the State Attorney should follow his lead and arrest the grandfather and put him on trial. Having avoided taking the stand at her own trial they could then subpoena Casey Anthony to give evidence against her father. Regrettably we will probably never know for sure, but its even money that Casey, Cindy and George are the three people who could tell us how Caylee Anthony really died.
