The Casey Anthony Verdict

It was like a flashback to October 3, 1995. There I was yesterday afternoon at 2:15 with five others packed into my small office all glued to CNN awaiting the verdict in the trial of Casey Anthony. I have to admit that I paid little attention to the trial in Orlando, Florida which many had followed like a daily soap opera. However as things heated-up the last few days I had more than a casual interest in the verdict as a jury of seven women and five men decided if the 25-year old Anthony killed her two-year old daughter Caylee just over three years ago.

Moments before the decision was read there were various comments made from those gathered in my office watching the proceedings from Courtroom 23. All of them had to do with the foregone conclusion that Anthony was guilty and would likely face the death penalty. Nobody seemed to feel anything but hatred for a woman who has been portrayed as someone who wanted to be able to party hard and not worry about the burdens of motherhood. The fact that she was caught in numerous lies during the trial made it seem like a slam-dunk for the prosecution.

However just before the verdict was read I did think back to nearly 16 years ago when about 30 of us packed our news room here at WOBM to watch what was going on in a Los Angeles courtroom. After just four hours of deliberations, the more than four-month murder trial of former football star O.J SIMPSON was about to end. All but one of us who were in the room that day expected that Simpson would be found guilty of murdering his ex-wife and her friend. There was really little doubt and the fact the jury needed only four hours to reach a decision seemed to be the clincher. Well we know what happened that day and to many 16 years later history has repeated itself.

It would be foolish really for any one of us to claim we know what really happened and it’s hard to be critical of the jury in Florida because they reached a unanimous verdict in a rather short time. Remember that the burden of proof rests with the prosecution and there is that “beyond a reasonable doubt” thing which is pretty powerful. Bottom line is like with OJ before it would appear the prosecution was not able to overcome that.

Of course if Casey Anthony did not murder her daughter than that would mean a child killer is still free. I guess they’ll find that person around the same time they come up with who killed Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.