American Justice: Casey Anthony Murder Trial of Daughter Caylee Anthony -> Not Guilty: A Case Study

NOT that many years ago, as a crow flies, another jury, and another defense counsel in another State was being vilified by an outraged public for an even more outrageous NOT GUILTY verdict heard around the world. The case was even more of a slam-dunk murder than the one just completed in Orange County, Florida, the Casey Anthony murder trial for the defendants were witnessed my many to have killed their victims unlike this modern day case where nobody witnessed the death of Caylee Anthony. Yet, just as unbelievably, the jury made up of the peers of the victims, not even peers of the defendants, found the men innocent of the crimes of which they were accused.

Justice certainly went wrong in this historical case. The people wanted the heads of the defense council. the jury, and the judges, let alone the defendants; they wanted vigilante justice now, just like some want the same kind of justice in Florida today. Many called for the death of John Adams, who, in 1770, a few years before becoming deeply involved in making the United States a reality and 27 years before becoming the second President of the United States, successfully defended seven of the nine soldiers accused of murdering five Bostonians on March 5, 1770 known as the Boson Massacre to the absolute horror of the good citizens of what would later become America. Of the two who were not acquitted of self-defense, they were found guilty and sentenced to having their thumbs branded in open court. The leader of the British troops, Captain Preston, was one of the seven found innocent by the Massachusetts jury as well. In a final note, on a deathbed confession, one of the participants in the mob that confronted the British soldiers that day in March corroborated the British story that they had been threatened by the Boston mob.

AFTER roughly eight hours of deliberation, a very short time considering the gravity of the charges and the complexity of the case, the jury returned with what America, or at least this writer, thought was going to be a slam dunk guilty verdict. Boy were we surprised, and many, outraged, although I am not one of them.

I presume every one knows by now that Casey Anthony was found Not Guilty of any of the charges regarding the death of Caylee, her daughter; she was only found guilty of lying to the police. Let me establish that I do think Casey Anthony killed Caylee Anthony, but I don't necessarily believe she murdered her child with malice aforethought. I also think that the prosecution provided enough circumstantial evidence to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt. Having said that, it is clear the jury of 12 reasonable men and woman did have a reasonable doubt; they did not appear to quibble about or debate about it either; they came to that conclusion rather quickly, it seems. The rapidity of their decision, plus that of one of the alternates, puts my conclusion in some doubt.

Do I believe those on the jury think that Casey didn't kill Caylee? No, it is simply not logical to me that anyone else could have done it, so. I am forced to think they think she killed Caylee. But, what they obviously believe, and what they should be applauded for and not condemned for is that the State did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt the elements required by the State of Florida to find Casey guilty of murder or any of the lesser charges. There may have been a preponderance of the evidence but there was still reasonable doubt in ALL twelve minds of the jurors, ALL twelve, without hesitation; this was a slam dunk finding of the State not proving its case as required by law. This was a slam dunk case of the American legal system working as the founders had hoped it would work.

YES, it does, and that is a real shame; or does it? I am not so sure that Caylee hasn't received justice as so many have claimed she hasn't because her mother was not found guilty of her death. I might argue that her death has been answered in that her plight has been brought to the attention of the world. The fact there has been no formal pronouncement of guilt by the system seems rather pointless to me and rather childish of those who insist on it; the world knows who is responsible and more important, Casey, unless she is a sociopath, knows the world is aware of her callousness. Caylee's death is vindicated by the fact that Casey has to publicly live with the knowledge that wherever she goes, people will look at her and see her as the mother who partied on her daughters grave; that is what the world will be thinking of her. These self-righteous people claiming that Caylee hasn't received "Justice" haven't a clue as to what they are talking about.

What they also don't have a clue about is what the American system of justice really is about. They would rather see a justice system that would have let Joseph Abbitt, Kenneth Adams, Gilbert Alajandro, ... , Ted Bradford, ... , Albert Johnson, ... , Larry Youngblood, and 266 other innocentmen and women die than ensure each have a fair trial and appeal. Each of these innocent people would have been put to death if it weren't for the extraordinary efforts of Innocence Project. Many were convicted on flimsier evidence than presented in the Casey Anthony trial; many others were convicted on the basis of prosecutorial misconduct; all were strongly opposed by prosecutors and the legal system. I have personally talked to people, my father being one, bless his departed soul, that believe it is justified for the State to kill a few innocent American citizens by mistake in order to keep more guilty ones off the streets! He never could understand why I was a Progressive (he called me a damn Liberal) What is worse, he wasn't all that Conservative either, well, he didn't go to church anyway.

Since 1981, when Ronald Reagan took office, it has become harder and harder for people convicted of capital crimes to get appeals heard. It is so bad today, that having non-DNA proof of your innocence that was not brought up at your original trial is not sufficient grounds for a retrial, thank you Conservative Supreme Court!