Where did the prosecution go wrong?

[cluciano63]

The State needed to make it clear that reasonable doubt does not mean ALL doubt...and they also needed to make it clear that Casey should be held responsible for Caylee's death on some level...but they were determined to get the DP conviction and I think that turned some jurors off. The State was over-zealous, IMO for a case that was not cut and dried at all.

 

[Horace Finklestein]

Wow! I respectfully disagree with this post. Judge Perry let ALL the evidence come in that the prosecution asked for, even the air sample evidence that had never been admitted in court before. He overruled almost every defense objection and sustained almost every prosecution objection.

Check charges, all the pictures, the fight with CA, etc. YThey didn't get all the evidence whether the SA asked for it or not. Granted some of that was rules of evidence nonsense.

 

[Bainbridge]

JMO---For those not familiar with Pinellas County: Highly liberal area. My liberal friend and I agree on one thing: Casey is responsible for Caylee's death.
My liberal friend believes:
1. the case was not proven
2.Judge BP "favored" the prosecution
3.Jeff Ashton is a bully and a jerk

I, being conservative, believe:
1. This circumstantial case was proven beyond a reasonable doubt for 1st degree murder
2. Judge BP helped Baez as much as judicially possible.
3. Jeff Ashton is a formidable advocate and prosecutor.

Maybe there in lies the tale as to why this liberal jury returned the verdict they did--Pro Defense biased therefore the evidence was viewed from that perspective.

I consider myself VERY liberal. I am not from Florida...I live in Philadelphia. I do not agree with a single thing that your liberal friend believes, but do agree with you. For the first time ever, probably, saying I agree with a conservative

 

[Mendara]

I think they liked the underdog and Jose scored points when he said the state wanted to "win" at all costs, when he lied about the computer reports and called it "fraud" - I think the jury disregarded that because they believed the underdog. When he said Casey was just searching for chloroform because of her boyfriend's photo (even though the evidence showed that Cindy claimed to do it at first - then that was a lie - and the search was "how to make chloroform - and then Jose basically said the entire thing was fraud - so sorry what kind of juror does not see how jose wanted that one both ways.

I think George Anthony was taken as a liar and River Cruz helped.

I think they liked the defense story better. I think they did not like Jeff Ashton.

 

[StillLurkin]

The prosecution did nothing wrong, the jury was picked on the fly, and it is what it is.

 

[milliac]

Great topic. I was wondering the same thing today. Many keep saying if only the jury heard all the evidence we know. My mind is numb, but what information was the prosecution unable to present that was very detrimental to their case? I know there were things they chose not to present.

I think the state did a great job. I am still in shock, but I really don't believe 12 stealth jurors are likely. I wish the jurors would have collectivly issued a statement for their primary reason. I don't blame them for not coming forward in the media. Some of them have children and families that would suffer for their decision.

I said early that I felt the only critique of the state is them not developing a rapport with the jury. I have to hand it to Jose in that regard. He wished them good morning everyday, and by the end they were wishing him good morning back.

I loved Jeff and Linda's closing statements. They were amazing. However, I did wonder if they were coming across too powerful. At times, Linda appeared to be scolding the jurors. We know she was passionate about her argument, but maybe the jurors were put off by it.

 

[GiantPickle]

I don't think the prosecution really did anything wrong....

....with the minor exception of over charging her. I never thought she should get the DP. I really did/do believe she drowned....but I believe that was due to ICA's negligence. She should have been charged with something much less that was so easily proven (negligent homicide, improper disposal of a corpse) etc.

 

[Rallihanna]

I just think the trial's focus was on Casey... not Caylee. I wish they would have brought her up more.

 

[katydid23]

The Prosecution NEVER had a chance. Here is why:

The ENTIRE jury was made up of people who do not read the papers or watch the news. They are people who are not concerned with what is going on in their community or the world around them. IMO, they do not care.

 

[Nikki 01]

This was a death-qualified jury...and I actually thought they favored the prosecution. And I thought that JB got slapped around in court a lot more than JA did and overruled almost every time he spoke. So that must make me a "liberal" by your definition.

Does everything have to be about politics???

They were talking about the makeup of the jury on HLN prior to them even coming to a verdict. One of the talking heads (can't remember which with all this coverage) said they felt that this jury was much better for the defense.

While I admire the job HHJP did, I don't think he did a good job at picking a death qualified jury. From what I am reading on the jury profiles #2 was against the DP and #11 seemed against it as well. The final alternate was also against it. The rest seemed indifferent at best.

 

[jon_burrows]

Chris Cuomo just tweeted that one of the alternates said the prosecution failed to prove motive.

I never thought I would see a jury dumber than the OJ jury. I now have.

Mothers kill their children all the time. There are over 100 cases pending in Florida alone at this very moment.

Nancy Grace once said she finally gave up on trying to figure out why people kill because there is no logical reason. I know a lot of people hate NG but she really taught me something that day.

Aside from self defense, there is no reason to kill

IMO

 

[milliac]

I think they liked the underdog and Jose scored points when he said the state wanted to "win" at all costs, when he lied about the computer reports and called it "fraud" - I think the jury disregarded that because they believed the underdog. When he said Casey was just searching for chloroform because of her boyfriend's photo (even though the evidence showed that Cindy claimed to do it at first - then that was a lie - and the search was "how to make chloroform - and then Jose basically said the entire thing was fraud - so sorry what kind of juror does not see how jose wanted that one both ways.

I think George Anthony was taken as a liar and River Cruz helped.

I think they liked the defense story better. I think they did not like Jeff Ashton.

I agree. I think GA created a lot of doubt with his lies, mannerisms and ways of answering questions on the stand. I almost wonder if this was a defense skillfully crafted and he really did fall on the sword for his daughter, without completely going over the edge.

 

[matou]

The Prosecution NEVER had a chance. Here is why:

The ENTIRE jury was made up of people who do not read the papers or watch the news. They are people who are not concerned with what is going on in their community or the world around them. IMO, they do not care.

Yep. TY

 

[Nikki 01]

To answer the question, I thought the prosecution did a wonderful job. I really don't think there was much different they could have done. I guess the lack of a cause of death was much bigger than any of us thought and Baez used the Anthony's dysfunction to their advantage.

 

[Nikki 01]

The Prosecution NEVER had a chance. Here is why:

The ENTIRE jury was made up of people who do not read the papers or watch the news. They are people who are not concerned with what is going on in their community or the world around them. IMO, they do not care.

I agree with this to a degree, but I don't think they were all necessarily telling the truth. I thought #3 was lying about knowing nothing and the talking heads on IN Session thought she was a stealth. I was very surprised the defense wanted her on, but I guess they made the right decision.

 

[matou]

Everyone has bias and the jurors had their own biases. Who knows, maybe a few hate cops and a few hated their science teachers in school. I don't trust the general public with handling important matters like these. The testimony likely went over their heads. They did not deliberate long enough to have discussed ANY OF THE EVIDENCE, in my opinion. They rushed it and wanted to go home. I don't trust the justice system the way it is. JMO

 

[Linda7NJ]

IMO Lots of people find it extremely difficult to consider the possibility a mother is capable of premeditated first degree murder of their own child. Especially when they see photographs of them happy together. Jurors want to try to figure out why would she lie? They grabbed the seed from Jose's opening statement & the sex abuse....and they never let it go!
LDB biggest fear came true. They left their common sense at the door of the court house.
The prosecution did a fantastic job and proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

[wallflower67]

I don't think they could have done any more than they could. In the end, to the jury, they could not could not prove when, where, how, and motive.

The family lied on the stand, and lied in depositions. I have never been a GA and CA basher. I always felt bad for them. But now I feel their lies are responsible for this verdict. The family's credibility was shot.

 

[matou]

10 hours and 40 minutes to come up with the verdict tells me the jury did not understand the evidence. It's like giving a lesson to a group of kids and they nod like they understand but they just didn't get it at all and fail the exam. There's no way that they could fly through discussions about the evidence in that short amount of time. JMO

 

[mentalsolstice]

JMO---For those not familiar with Pinellas County: Highly liberal area. My liberal friend and I agree on one thing: Casey is responsible for Caylee's death.
My liberal friend believes:
1. the case was not proven
2.Judge BP "favored" the prosecution
3.Jeff Ashton is a bully and a jerk

I, being conservative, believe:
1. This circumstantial case was proven beyond a reasonable doubt for 1st degree murder
2. Judge BP helped Baez as much as judicially possible.
3. Jeff Ashton is a formidable advocate and prosecutor.

Maybe there in lies the tale as to why this liberal jury returned the verdict they did--Pro Defense biased therefore the evidence was viewed from that perspective.

Please, do not bring politics into this! I'm a liberal, 1) I thought the SA case was well-presented; 2) JP "helped" the DT as much as possible to ensure it was a fair trial and there would be no reversal on appeal, and the SA has no right to an appeal; and 3) JA, LDB and FG are wonderful attorneys. I was never a prosecutor or defense attorney, however, I've known plenty of both (and judges), I always preferred defense attorneys to hang with on a social basis. Most of them were good folk that decided to take on an unpopular job. That said, I didn't find this DT attractive AT ALL.