The evidence failed Caylee, not the Jury.

[krkrjx]

Maybe the jury did not have enough evidence to tie Casey to the crime but I do not think the jury was given all the evidence. The most compelling evidence, IMO, was the decomp in the car trunk. They heard about it. They saw photos of the trunk. They never got to smell that smell. Allowing them to do so would have set a precedent, no doubt. And no doubt the judge just did not want to take a chance with that, but if AN ODOR is the evidence, how can that not be presented? Hearing about it does not allow one to smell it. Seeing photos does not allow one to SMELL it. No one needs to be familiar with the smell of decomp to realize it is a smell like no other.

There is just no reason to enter evidence into the record that is not going to be allowed to be examined by the jurors. And I'm sorry but if the only way to fully examine a piece of evidence is to smell it, then smell it they must.

Maybe it wouldn't have been enough but IMO this was evidence that was available in the case was not made available to the jury. And that is just plain WRONG!

 

[goldenlover]

I agree with the verdict. In fact I applaud this jury for being able to leave out their emotion, which obviously so many on this forum cannot do.

Also, the state attorney said at the press conference yesterday that ALL the evidence was put before this jury, so what are you all talking about when you say that this jury did not know all the facts.

Well said, I totally agree. I commend this jury for choosing the correct verdict, based upon the evidence. I, like many others thought she was guilty prior to the trial. As I watched the trial I kept saying to myself "is that all they have?" I, too, would have had to find her not guilty.

 

[Enchanting_eyes]

It's my opinion that the jury reached the verdict that they did because of the evidence presented at trial.

The state did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Casey killed her daughter, you cannot convict someone on emotions or common sense, there is a burden of proof and that was not met in this case.

Just because the jury did not reach the verdict that many thought they would does not mean they were stupid, illiterate, lacking common sense, engaged in misconduct, reached a verdict because they just wanted to go home, and didn't listen to all of the trial.

 

[SilkySifaka]

Do you believe KC is innocent?

I think she is guilty as sin but that the verdict was correct based on the evidence in court.

 

[Nova24]

The jury failed her as well. This was a jury that had several people seated that never should have been.

 

[wfgodot]

This jury obeyed the most important dictate: the presumption of innocence. Its importance in criminal trials was perhaps most famously formulated by the English jurist William Blackstone when he wrote, "Better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer."

State's evidence was so weak that nothing in the trial court overcame the initial presumption.

 

[goldenlover]

The jury failed her as well. This was a jury that had several people seated that never should have been.

The state failed, not the jury, in my opinion.

 

[justanother]

There WAS a photo of the skull shown with duct tape. It was not shown to the public.

With three pieces of tape the way JA said??

 

[evelyn24]

Exactly, I am basing my opinion so far on what the Jury thinks. People have been saying that the PT came down too harsh on the charges, but that is not the point the Alternate was saying. He was saying and I feel it was a consensus with the jury as a whole, that GA had something to do with it and because they didnt know how caylee died they couldnt find her guilty. One alternate I was told said that she thought Casey was a good mother, huh?! He said other things that confused me too. They didnt believe the body was even in the trunk?? So yeah you can criticize the PT all day long about the charges, but I want to know what the Jury thought before I'm gonna say the case was lost cause of this or that. The jury made the decision and so far it seems they felt for some reason Caylee drowned even though there isnt a lick of evidence pointing there.

Then the Jury didnt ask to review anything? In this kinda of high profile murder case? That is not the norm.

Even the OJ jury asked to review evidence. How sad is that in comparison?

As the poster above said they drank the Casey Anthony kool aid.

 

[cluciano63]

The smell itself was not evidence, the expert testimony to what they believed the smell to be was evidence, IMO. The jurors are not experts and could not have identified the smell anyway. They only had to believe or disbelieve those who testified as to what they knew the smell to be.

 

[krkrjx]

It's my opinion that the jury reached the verdict that they did because of the evidence presented at trial.

The state did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Casey killed her daughter, you cannot convict someone on emotions or common sense, there is a burden of proof and that was not met in this case.

Just because the jury did not reach the verdict that many thought they would does not mean they were stupid, illiterate, lacking common sense, engaged in misconduct, reached a verdict because they just wanted to go home, and didn't listen to all of the trial.

Sadly, it happens. I was on a jury and when we got into the deliberation room someone said, "He's guilty. Let's stay through lunch then we can get out of here."

 

[sappysoul]

I am stunned people think there wasn't enough evidence. This jury didn't even spend any time talking about the evidence. This verdict had nothing to do with evidence. It was about a jury who didn't follow the instructions of the court and base their decision on the evidence. Simple as that. You simply cannot rely on COD because so many bodies are decomposed when discovered. If people truly need videos, fingerprints and DNA, everything handed to them without use of common sense or intelligence then we better hope criminals get a lot stupider.

 

[NCSleuth]

I agree completely with the title of this thread. We all know Casey killed her, but in court you have to prove it. Casey doesn't have to prove her innocence, the state has to prove her guilt. They couldn't even prove how Caylee died. They couldn't tie Casey to the body. Its one thing to believe she did it, its another to prove it in a court of law.

I know some of you will never agree, but try to put your feelings aside and look at the evidence. Could you have sent someone to prison for the rest of their life with this evidence. I don't think I could have. All emotions aside, state did not PROVE it. They have the burden of PROOF!

Did Casey do it? Absolutely. Did the state prove she did it? Obviously not. Big difference.

 

[Dragonlady]

No but a photo of the tape on the skull as it was supposedly found would have worked more effectively than a photoshopped movie. That movie just let me know there wasn't enough evidence of the tape being on the mouth/nose. It was a mistake IMO to use that movie.

The tape was found attached and wrapped around Caylee's hair, and hair is attached to our skin which covers ours skulls, and experts testified that the tape had allowed the mandible to remain in place after skeletonization, the jury saw the pictures of the skull at the crime scene, we did not, and this was very powerful and damning evidence and should have been considered by the jury in their deliberations.

I think that I understand what you are trying to say, however expecting to be shown a skull with no human tissue and tape still fully attached is an unreasonable expectation due to the conditions that the body was subjected to during those 6 months, heat and water destroy DNA, fingerprints, and break down human remains quickly.

 

[Baznme]

Are you forgetting anything stated in opening statements is not evidence? And since Casey never took the stand all her lies could be considered hearsay. Honest I know she got off with murder an I am not happy at all . But it is time to move on. This is another OJ . A DJ I heard this mornig made a remark this morning " Can you imgaine what Scott Peterson is saying now" How come i could not have had that Jury?

Thanks for the sentiment JDB. We'll be OK after a while. You can move on, I'll catch up with ya later. Need to chew on this cud awhile.

 

[evelyn24]

I object to the notion that those of us who saw enough evidence to convict must have been influenced by the media. That is an untrue, unfounded assumption. I know what I saw and heard in the TRIAL. And yes, I see enough. Apparently this is a matter of opinion, but that means it goes both ways. It means those who didn't see enough evidence think the State failed, but conversely those of us who see the evidence feel the jury failed. We are entitled to that. A baby died at the hands of her mother, so no, it isn't time to move on and be grown ups. It is time to mourn that baby and her severe lack of justice.

I'm not saying we all have to agree. I'm saying those of us who are upset are entitled to be. We saw what we saw and it's baffling that the jury didn't. I am personally disheartened by the things the alternate is saying- it shows yes, a lack of common sense as well as a complete disregard for the facts. And please note, I am not saying those who don't see enough evidence are disregarding the facts- I am specifically talking about that juror's comments and how they are not at all logical. It is not simply "there wasn't enough"- he discounted proven facts and testimonies. If I extrapolate his theories to the rest of the jury, it is frightening and frustrating.

Wonderful post.

 

[madeleine]

I do not think this Jury took this decision lightly and i do not care who dropped out of school, who has a dui, who does what, when, where or how. They were chosen to take on the ultimate burden in this case and i am grateful that they sacrificed weeks of their lives to do so.

They saw all this evidence (including photos of her remains) and had it repeated to them a mind numbing amount of times. I don't believe 12 people came in with their minds already made up to her being not guilty. In fact i am sure some think she did do something but you can't find someone Guilty of 'something'.

They looked at what the Prosecution was offering and sadly for many, it turns out there just wasn't enough evidence. JA saying Caylee was taped three times and demonstrating how does not give a murder weapon. Hoping she used Chloroform does not prove she did. Presenting computer searches as evidence of premeditation and then having that stomped on before the jury does not prove premeditation.

The Prosecution did what they could with what they had but in the end it wasn't enough.

ITA,not the cops,not the DA,the evidence and this is nobody's fault....
IMO this happens a lot sadly,especially when you don't have an exact COD,TOD,murder weapon,etc...cause jurors wanna KNOW about this stuff in order to be sure....

 

[AnotherGladysKravitz]

The evidence was there. Unfortunately I truly believe that they were not intelligent enough to understand what was being said and zoned out on the important parts. Sad, sad, sad.

 

[madeleine]

to be clear,I personally would have voted guilty,not of murder one(I wouldn't send someone to death row without being 100% sure) but of something else,doesn't matter anymore....but being in a jurors shoes is being under big pressure....you probably wanna make sure you did the right thing and won't regret it.....

 

[evelyn24]

Are you forgetting anything stated in opening statements is not evidence? And since Casey never took the stand all her lies could be considered hearsay. Honest I know she got off with murder an I am not happy at all . But it is time to move on. This is another OJ . A DJ I heard this mornig made a remark this morning " Can you imgaine what Scott Peterson is saying now" How come i could not have had that Jury?

She was convicted of lying to LE so it was definitely entered into evidence not just hearsay. Her only conviction as a matter of fact.
And with all due respect it's been less than 24 hours and people should "move on" when they feel ready. I guess all of us upset with the verdict should just leave WS for awhile.