Monday, July 18, 2011

Where Does She Go Now?

I seriously doubt there is anyone who doesn’t know the name Casey Anthony. Many of you may have even followed her trial closely. Personally, I read daily news reports but didn’t actually watch the trial. My sis did.

The day the verdict came in my sis and I were both shocked. She was very upset because she'd felt certain the jury was going to return a guilty verdict. On the other hand, I was stunned because I couldn’t believe that the jury had set aside emotion and had actually considered the case presented by the prosecution and had found her not guilty. In my opinion, the prosecution had not proved its case and it’s just that simple for me. But I was expecting a guilty verdict just the same.

Now that doesn’t mean I believe that Casey Anthony wasn’t responsible for her daughter’s death. I do. But the prosecution failed to give any evidence that actually showed that. Where was the smoking gun? When did this little girl die? What exactly killed her? The facts were all over the place and none of them actually showed Casey Anthony in the act in any way.

While this trial was going on there was a trial in our state that also held my interest. Jason Young was accused of bludgeoning his pregnant wife to death. This was another situation in which I could not see the facts that proved the prosecution’s case and his trial ended with a hung jury.

In both of these trials, Anthony’s and Young’s, the prosecution AND media were able to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the defendants were lousy human beings. Anthony never bothered to report her child was missing (and we know that’s because she KNEW what had happened, of course) and Anthony partied like hell through it all, lying to the police. Jason Young had affairs and argued with his wife constantly. He even had an affair with one of her best friends—some friend, huh?

So both of these people were convicted of being lousy human beings but not murderers. I heard it said dozens of times in reference to Young that just because you were a bad husband it didn’t make you a murderer. Well, that’s true with Anthony as well. She was a horrible mother. But even if I didn’t believe she killed her daughter, I could never get past the fact that NO mother goes partying when their child is missing.

I suppose we’ve all tried to figure out what happened to little Caylee. I know I have. And what I think is this:  I read several times over the course of months that the grandmother was pretty much at odds with Casey over the way she was raising/treating Caylee. That the grandmother wanted her daughter to be more responsible. I can see that. Rings truthful to me. It’s my understanding that at one point, the grandmother stopped babysitting so much, trying to get Casey to settle down and be responsible for her child. Makes sense. But I don’t think Casey Anthony was ready for that responsibility no matter how much it was thrust upon her. I think she continued to party but could not find or afford babysitters so she took her daughter with her. And what did she do? Chloroformed her and duct taped her mouth shut, probably put her in the trunk so no one passing by her car could see the sleeping child and report her.

I know of two situations personally in which grandmothers have said they would no longer babysit their grandkids while the parents went out and partied and spent money they needed to raise their children. In both cases, the children were taken along to the parties. Yep, even into bars. And yeah, a bar should have stopped that, but these bars aren’t exactly the kind that really cares what happens. Fortunately the children lived through these situations but it did affect them. Two children were molested and  finally taken from the mother. The other children were also eventually taken from the mother as the mother “forgot” the children one night and they were found sleeping in a storage room the next day and crying because they were so scared.

What I’m trying to say is that at the very least, alcohol and drugs and young parents do not mix. Hell, I know forty-year-old parents who have no business being parents. Let’s face it. There are bad parents in this world. Parents without a conscience. Parents who are clueless as to how to raise a child. Parents who cannot clean up their acts and do right by their children.  Children are simply neglected. And not always in a way that you’d notice. They might look perfectly fine on the outside—clean clothes, nice shoes, etc—but neglected just the same.

When I look at Casey Anthony, I see a young woman who is disconnected from reality. Her daughter is dead and she knows what happened to her. Her parents and brother may as well be dead to her after the accusations she made in court with reference to molestation. She is the most hated woman in America. Yet she smiled upon hearing the verdict. Was it an evil smile? One that said, “yeah, I got away with murder”?  I don’t think so. It was the kind of smile that said “the jury believed me and I can have a life now”.  Disconnected. No thought given to her little girl.

But the jury didn’t believe her, did they? They just couldn’t get past doing their job. The reasonable doubt was there for them and they had to go with it. As much as I would like to have seen a guilty verdict, I’m also amazed at the way the jury handled things. They did their job.

So now she’s out of jail and in hiding. Everyone thinks she is going to make big bucks from all of this. Lawsuits are popping up like crazy. Jerry Springer offered her a million bucks to appear on his show. And everyone thinks she needs protection. That someone is going to see to it justice is done.

Is she really free? Is it possible that given time this is all going to go away and she’ll end up with her own reality TV show? Is it up to someone other than God to decide her fate now? I’m just wondering what everyone thinks about this. Was the jury right? Should the jury have been given an alternative charge with which to convict—something lesser and easier to prove? Where did the prosecution fail? Or did the prosecution fail? 

Where does Casey Anthony go now? 

15 comments:

Billie Jo said...

Hey Tess.

I don't think Casey has anyplace she can go without some kind of harrassment.

Like you, I believe the jury did their job. There was NO forensic evidence that connected her to the crime. Did she do it, I believe she did. But without that evidence, you just do not know.

The prosecutor and police officers jumped the gun on this investigation and did not properly connect all the dots.

The sad thing is, poor Caylee will never get the justice she deserves.

As for Casey, she will get her punishment one way or another.

Billie Jo

Anonymous said...

Hi Tess!

I have to agree that Casey Anthony has no place to go where she won't be harassed. She'd have to have plastic surgery to change her looks, that's the only way I can see that she'd be able to walk down the street without anyone recognizing her.

I don't think the prosecutors in this case did their job. A number of the jurors said they didn't feel she was innocent of the crime, but the prosecutors didn't prove her guilt.

I didn't watch the trial and only paid attention to updates every now and then. My mom paid pretty close attention to it all and she feels Casey Anthony's father had something to do with Caylee's murder.

Tess MacKall said...

I think you're right, Billie Jo. She has no place to go that she won't be harassed. It's even being said that any company--publisher, movie production company--that even hints at wanting to do a deal with her is also going to be harassed.

I wonder how time will affect all of this, though.

In the back of my mind I'm thinking that we're going to see Casey Anthony back in court some day. Just like OJ.

I do think the investigation was botched from day one. And yep, some day she'll be punished. We may not get to see it, but some day she will be punished.

Tracey H. Kitts said...

I didn't watch the trial either, but know people who did and kept me informed. Every time I read an update about it I felt sick.

Do I believe she had something to do with her daughter's death? Absolutely. Anyone who could smile at the verdict or smile at all knowing that their child is dead is not right in the head.

I'm not sure if the prosecution failed so much as they had nothing to work with. Maybe the officers who gathered the evidence were the ones who failed. Who knows?

Maybe things worked the way they did because God has something worse in mind for her than a vacation in jail? One can hope.

Tess MacKall said...

So your mom believed the defense's case in that he molested Casey or did she believe the whole scenario surrounding the drowning?

You know...I didn't pay that much attention to the molestation charges. I thought that was a bit outlandish. I mean, that's the type of thing that would have surfaced long ago if it were true. And I don't mean while she was growing up. But any defense attorney with a brain in their head would have leaked that to the press to start public opinion on the side of his client. At least that's what I think. So I believe the whole molestation defense was just a matter of "it's all we got and let's run with it".

The accidental drowning? It's probable. Could have happened. In which case, just as in the scenario I painted, it wasn't murder but a matter of neglect and cover up.

So do you think Caylee was murdered, or was this a matter of an accident and cover up, Casey?

Tess MacKall said...

I hear ya, Tracy on that vacation in Hell. This case, all the way around, was just a series of screw ups. The police, the family, the prosecution. Even the media.

I do hope that one day we will know what happened to that little girl. And with forensic advances we just might. There may eventually be a way to prove what happened, just as DNA can do in some cases now that couldn't be proved before.

It's just unfortunate that double jeopardy will prevent Casey Anthony from being punished for it if and when that does happen.

anny cook said...

The thing that strikes me is this--if we trust our justice system, then why is this an issue now? She was declared "not guilty" by a jury of her peers.

And according to our laws, she's free to go. We have nothing further to say in the matter. Trying her in the media court is useless and serves no purpose.

Yet, because of what we "think" we know, this woman will not be able to get a job. She will not be able to rent an apartment. She will not be able to have a life. So how is this not a punishment?

There is no life after a public trial. Whether "we" believe she killed her child or not is immaterial. The jury said "no".

Tess MacKall said...

Very good points, Anny. Things I've been struggling with a bit myself. I try not to pay attention to crimes involving children in the first place. Yeah, that's sticking my head in the sand for sure.

But when Susan Smith drove that car into the lake down in Union, SC, I was in that area on a job site with with my construction crew. As a matter of fact my company was doing a job right at the stoplight where Smith said she and her babies were carjacked.

I spent a lot of time in that town. I was even back there for more work while the trial was going on---a circus for sure complete with bleachers and tents. Ten-dollar all day parking at the church parking lot too.

Anyway, that one really upset me. I was too close to it. Heard too much about it. So I try not to do what so many did--follow the cases closely. It can wreck you emotionally and you can form opinions that you should leave to our system of justice.

The system, even if we don't like it in Casey Anthony's case, worked. It's just that simple. Lady Justice has had her say. So for you to say we should have no further say is exactly right. This should be a done deal.

But that's where emotion comes into play. Emotion that has in the past driven juries. There was another case in NC several months back where a man was accused of killing his wife. Hoards of people thought he was innocent. But somehow that jury was persuaded otherwise. It's almost like a flip of the corn in some cases.

But this is our justice system and without it we'd be lost. So we should respect the decision of the jury. I'm just know that not everyone will.

anny cook said...

Nope. People won't. That's for sure. But I try. I'm one person. And that's pretty much how it will be--one person at a time who will say, "It's over. Let it be."

In the "olden days" before wall to wall media coverage, it was not quite so bad.

Tess MacKall said...

I remember when I was a teenager, a local man was accused of raping a six year old. No one wanted to believe he did it. He was found not guilty.

But I've said several times since then that the climate for a conviction just wasn't right at that time. No one was talking about molestation and incest and such then.

The media brought all of that to the forefront and now it makes it easier for a jury pool to believe something like that could take place.

Had that man been tried today he would have been found guilty. Just like the local man who sued the chemical company for all of the illnesses his family suffered. I was a little girl then. He lost, of course, but years later the lake near his home was proved to be contaminated and the EPA closed it down for and declared it a super site. The chemical company had to pay up big time. But the man was dead. His lawsuit gone.

Times change. We believed someone could do something bad to the child this time. We just don't believe justice was served.

But you're right again, Anny. You and I are just one person. We should let it go. Not sure that's going to happen. The media will keep fueling the fire.

anny cook said...

I have to admit your points are valid. And times definitely do change. I remember back when Richard Speck killed all those nurses in Chicago...the papers wouldn't give any details because it was a "family" paper.

I suppose I would like to see a happy medium in the press coverage. I'm not sure that's possible anymore. As we're seeing played out even today in the news...the media is not necessarily in the business to report just the facts. One wonders how far they'll go for a story.

Tess MacKall said...

The media plays a huge role in our lives. And nope, they don't have to go for facts at all. Lots of assumptions are being made in order to deliver the scoop.

It can all get pretty damn disgusting.

Journalists used to consider it a badge of honor to point out yellow journalism. Not anymore. Now it's the media that pushes certain stories to the front and whips the public into a frenzy.

And in no way am I trying to belittle the importance of little Caylee. Just saying that sometimes the media decides what we should see and shouldn't.

Elece said...

I am with some of the others. I applaud the jury for doing their job, regardless of the emotions this case aroused in most of us. The prosecution and police department are the ones I feel did not. Not having a lesser charge for the jury to convict of was, to me, ridiculous. Of course we will most likely never know what happened to that poor child, Anthony was surely of guilty of something.

It is true, no matter where that woman goes, she will not escape the accusations against her. Her life will not be free for a long time, if ever. Is that fair? That's not for me to judge, and frankly, I don't have to, because so many others will, and will continue to do so. So in my eyes, whether a court of law convicted her or not, the media and the general public did. Her punishment may not be jail, but the "life" she now has, really isn't a life at all. Karma is a bitch! And I love her for it!!

Tess MacKall said...

Well said, Elece. Karma will definitely get her. Karma bites everybody after a while. I know I wanted to slap that smile off of her face. And then I thought...I should not be this emotionally involved in all of this.

But I just couldn't help it. It wasn't the thought of her going free either. It was the thought of her being able to smile and knowing that her child was dead--whether she did it or not. I don't think I could have smiled.

Mia Watts said...

I wish I could comment on this. I could but I'd be uninformed. I couldn't bring myself to follow the trial. I knew the verdict, but even that I didn't watch.

As a mother, I'm horrified when any child dies. The fact that it could have been by her mother's hand is beyond nauseating.