There can be no (reasonable) doubt that prosecutors proved Casey Anthony murdered her daughter Caylee beyond all (reasonable) doubt. In fact the evidence presented in court only affirmed informed pre-trial suspicions that she was as guilty as sin:
No doubt everyone deserves her day in court. But if ever there were a case where the accused could be fairly judged guilty before proven so, it is this. Therefore, I see no point in dignifying any of the patently contrived claims her lawyers are proffering in her defense – not so much to avoid a conviction as to avoid the death penalty…
Recall that it was not the nature of the murders, or even who was murdered, that kept us so riveted on coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial. Rather, it was the fact that O.J. was such a bona fide celebrity … period.
Well, the level of celebrity it took O.J. decades to earn was conferred upon Casey in an instant, making it seem as though public interest in her legal fate is just as warranted. Frankly, this case perpetuates the perception that only the murders of cute little white girls (like Caylee, JonBenét Ramsey, and Madeleine McCann) are worthy of media coverage.
(“Casey Anthony murder case,” The iPINIONS Journal, June 10, 2011)
But I’m not going to wax indignant about the fact that, like O.J., Casey got away with murder. Nor am I going to join the online lynch mob now going after the jurors … along with Casey.
Instead, this unconscionable and untenable verdict only compels me to repeat my clarion call for professional juries to be empanelled in criminal cases where the defendant faces more than 10 years in prison (especially the death penalty) and in civil cases where the amount in dispute exceeds $1 million. These juries should be comprised of retired lawyers, judges, law professors, law enforcement officials and others with some professional experience in the judicial system.
[I]t has become self-evident that presenting lay jurors with reams of evidence and over one hundred pages of jury instructions, then sending them off to make a life or death decision (sometimes under extreme social duress) is as foolhardy as giving a lay person a medical journal, then sending her off to perform brain surgery.
(The case for professional juries…, The iPINIONS Journal, July 1, 2005)
Frankly, just as it was with the O.J. trial, it seems prosecutors had to present video of Casey actually committing this murder for these jurors to convict. This proves that juries comprised mostly of white people can be just as stupid as those comprised mostly of blacks. And I’m sure Casey’s jurors will demonstrate just how clueless they were during deliberations (in a room where invisible gas must have sapped their common sense) when they begin their ritual media blitz. Because, despite saying today that none of them want to talk to the media, we all know that it’s only a matter of time before the lure of their 15 minutes of fame and media cash become too irresistible.
Apropos of fate, karma finally caught up with O.J. – who is now spending the rest of his life in prison on unrelated charges. So I fully expect that same karma to befall the criminally self-obsessed and clinically psychopathic Casey – who is clearly also a pathological liar.
Incidentally, one of the most poignant moments of the trial came when Casey’s father George was forced to take the stand – not only to explain why the loss of his granddaughter Caylee drove him to attempt suicide, but also to defend himself against Casey’s accusations that he repeatedly molested her when she was a child. I don’t know how ripe his suicidal tendencies are these days, but it might occur to him that the best way to get the justice for Caylee that these jurors denied her is to take out Casey in a murder/suicide. I’m just sayin’….
In the meantime, alas, it evokes more consternation than consolation that jurors found her guilty of lying to law enforcement authorities about the very crime for which they found her not guilty. Not least because, since she had already served three years awaiting trial, she’s expected to walk free when the judge sentences her for these misdemeanor lying offenses on Thursday.
Case closed.
Related commentaries:
Casey Anthony murder case…
Case for professional juries
* This commentary was originally published yesterday, Tuesday, at 7:20 pm.
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