Why did the jury reach this verdict?

[repairmom]

KC has become a "celebrity", and celebrities are given the benefit of ALL doubt by the system and/or juries. Look at OJ, Michael Jackson, Lindsey Lohan, the Baretta actor (can't remember his name).

Some sociologist should study this phenomenon and what causes it.

I can think of no other reason she got off except that it was a "celebrity" case.

Disgusting!

 

[krkrjx]

I think the jurors all wanted to go home and get on with their lives. They had nothing to gain by staying in Orlando another few weeks, and nothing to lose by moving things along sooner.

Sorry if this offends anyone but jurors do sometimes consider their own inconveniences.
Not all jurors do it but there are cases where the entire panel agrees to "just get this over with."

 

[burbqueen]

But all 12? I don't think it's some conspiracy or anything. They just felt the evidence wasn't there.

 

[MrsThreadgoode]

The alternate juror was speaking on HLN. He didn't believe the body was ever in the car! They did not smell it on the 16th and think George would have called police if there was really a smell of a body !

He also did not believe George was credible, and they believed the duct tape was consistent w the pet cemetery thing,. he also thought the family was dysfunctional.

It seems like they bought all of Baez's arguments

Is anyone else shocked?

I'm ABSOLUTELY shocked ... also stating that the prosecution hadn't presented a motive ... didn't they listen to Judge Perry's charges???? No motive was required in order to find her guilty ... these jurors just didn't want to devote the necessary time to review all the evidence that was required of them ... IMO they just wanted to go home (one had a vacation booked starting July 7, I believe) and I also believe that the "CSI effect" might have effected their thoughts as well ... 17 people who listened to 6+ weeks of testimony and spent 10 hours deliberating? OMG

 

[cluciano63]

You know, I posted on Sunday that if there was ever an exception to the rule that ALL drownings are reported, for example, that this family would be the exception. I do not believe the drowning story but I do believe the "oddness" of this family played into the verdict. Nothing they did or will do is like anything anyone else does or will do, IMO.

 

[8paws]

i think they reached the verdict because baez was able to put reasonable doubt in their minds, due to "no dna evidence"; "no filming of the murder of caylee"; and no actual proof that ica did the searches on the computer. Jb clouded and obfuscated all the circumstantial evidence that did exist.

I find myself wondering if the anthony family were possibly all in on this ploy of baez's to throw george and lee under the bus, in order to set their "princess, ica" free? All of george and cindy's lying on the stand, only helped to obfuscate the circumstantial evidence, resulting in reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors.

bingo!
I think the entire family was in on the defense from day one. They knew where Baez was going every step of the way.
This family must not be underestimated. They are clever, very clever. I think they would have done anything to get what they got today.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

The ONLY reason she was not convicted is because it took 6 months to find Caylee's little body.
All the evidence went away with the decomposition of her little body.

So, lesson of the day, you can get away with murder if you can hide the body long enough.

JMO

 

[203_forensics]

How can Casey be charged not guilty of killing Caylee, but charged with 4 counts of lying to the Police were she said she didn't kill Caylee. So is everything else a lie that she said but that. How can that be?

 

[cluciano63]

How can Casey be charged not guilty of killing Caylee, but charged with 4 counts of lying to the Police were she said she didn't kill Caylee. So is everything else a lie that she said but that. How can that be?

Because the police were able to prove she lied...but the state was not able to prove she killed...

 

[eileenhawkeye]

KC has become a "celebrity", and celebrities are given the benefit of ALL doubt by the system and/or juries. Look at OJ, Michael Jackson, Lindsey Lohan, the Baretta actor (can't remember his name).

Some sociologist should study this phenomenon and what causes it.

I can think of no other reason she got off except that it was a "celebrity" case.

Disgusting!

The people who mentioned were celebrities prior to their trial. Casey became a celebrity in the same way that Scott Peterson became a celebrity, and he was found guilty.

 

[wallflower67]

I don't agree with the verdict, but I can see reasonable doubt. GA, CA, and LA obviously lied under oath. Only one death band hair. Only one blow fly leg. Maybe the prosecution should have left those out and just gone with people who know the smell of death. People who are not chemists not understanding a volatile substance (chloroform). Too much time spent on chloroform. Prosecution probably shouldn't have gone for 1st degree and death penalty. Should have gone with aggrevated manslaughter. Casey hid the body well enough and long enough to destroy evidence.

I'm sure I'll come up with more reasons to try to make sense of this.

 

[ZsaZsa]

The alternate juror was speaking on HLN. He didn't believe the body was ever in the car! They did not smell it on the 16th and think George would have called police if there was really a smell of a body !

He also did not believe George was credible, and they believed the duct tape was consistent w the pet cemetery thing,. he also thought the family was dysfunctional.

It seems like they bought all of Baez's arguments

Is anyone else shocked?

Now let anyone who says CA and GA's lies from the moment they smelled the car should not be punished..
The alternate also brushed over the hair in the car - "it was just one" the smell noted by so many people and the stain in the car. Did they listen to anything?

 

[FX Wiz]

Many posters in other threads seem to think that this verdict means that the jury "bought" the defense's story of an accidental drowning, but that isn't necessarily so. Jurors might actually believe Casey was responsible for Caylee's death, but felt that the prosecution did not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, and if so, then they are duty bound to acquit her.

Personally, and I know this won't win me any popularity contests around here, I would have voted not guilty on all but the lying to LE myself. I do feel fairly certain that Casey was responsible in some way for Caylee's death, I do feel fairly sure that it was proven that she was in that trunk after death, and I think (with less certainty) that she was put in the swamp by Casey, but I did not feel like the evidence presented at trial proved her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt as to any of the murder, manslaughter, agg child abuse charges.

I also think that Mason's closing argument, regarding reasonable doubt, etc., may have been a strong factor in the jury's decision. I thought his argument and delivery were excellent, and he was definitely at his best during that summation, IMO. It is very important to remember that although this verdict is painful for many, especially so since it feels like no one is being held responsible for the murder of a CHILD, the adversarial system, the presumption of innocence, the beyond a reasonable doubt threshold, and the right to a vigorous defense are all invaluable tools in our justice system that help keep the state honest, and at least in theory help to ensure that it is DIFFICULT to take someone's freedom away, or especially to condemn them to death (regarding which, I agree with Baez in his statement - our country really needs to do away with murdering people for their crimes).

JMO. Hurl your tomatoes. :blush:

Difficult to take someones freedom away IF its a "high profile" case with the media on everyones back.
But not difficult at all (and far less evidence needed) if its run of the mill low profile case. Especially vs a black man.

 

[Gardenlady]

Difficult to take someones freedom away IF its a "high profile" case with the media on everyones back.
But not difficult at all (and far less evidence needed) if its run of the mill low profile case. Especially vs a black man.

I agree, that's why I said "at least in theory". I think the system is definitely stacked against people of color, especially men.

That's why I support the things I listed above - they make it more difficult to convict - or at least they should. More difficult than it would be if they were not in place.

I'm not knowledgable enough to make suggestions on how to improve the system for marginalized groups like those of lower socio-economic class, those of color, etc., but I do think an overhaul of the public defender system would be a start. Money buys justice too often, leaving those of lesser means at the mercy of the state. Other than that, im not sure what to say. No argument from me that black men get a raw deal in the justice system. All the more reason, IMO, for everyone to have access to the best possible defense.

 

[leighg]

How can Casey be charged not guilty of killing Caylee, but charged with 4 counts of lying to the Police were she said she didn't kill Caylee. So is everything else a lie that she said but that. How can that be?

She sent them on a wild goose chase after the non-existent zanny the nanny- she told them she worked at Universal. She told them many lies- one of which MAY have been that she didn't kill her daughter- but that one simply cannot be proven.

While I do not agree with the verdict- I felt that there was enough to conclude that she did something- accidental or not- that led to her daughter's death and the fact that she hid it and partied for 31 days make her guilty of manslaughter based on the instructions provided.

Key points for me if I ignore everthing I knew/know outside the courtroom:

I did not believe anything the family said. Cindy lied and George was evasive- Lee seemed more emotional when he remembered not being privvy to the pregnancy than Caylee being missing or dead. He also admitted that he blocked the fact of her death from his mind for a long period of time before accepting it- therefore the family does display avoidance as a way to cope.(maybe giving credence to why ICA partied) And Baez snuck in that Lee was tested for paternity of Caylee... a hint at some question of abuse in the family.

While I believed that the body was in the trunk.... why didn't her friends smell it before 7/15? Why didn't the man who escorted GA to the car at the junk yard not report it if he's smelled decomp before-why didn't GA? There was always something evasive about GA. (I did completely feel sorry for his persecution and the way his suicide was brought into it)

I found that the computer searches were not conclusive and too much in advance of the actual act to be a valid fact of premeditation. The IT guy probably said that there was enough doubt that the computer program was a reliable search tool.

Kronk- he was kooky. If he moved the skull on 12/11/08 by the eye socket with his meter stick- who is to say that the duct tape didn't reposition and really wasn't across her mouth/nose? The prosectution stated that it was so thin that all adhesive was gone so maybe it got stuck on the plants that were growing out of the remains and it changed position. The fact that police refused to complete the search in august really ruined any chance of real evidence that might have shown how Casey did harm her daughter(and yes, I truly believe she did).

While I thought that the opening statement was a crock- there was enough hints at something truly weird about the whole Anthony clan to provide doubt as to COD and motive. The prosectution said not to use emotion to make the decision but their summations were pure emotion- emotion that went from each piece of circumstantial evidence that told a story but it was a story that was not proven to this jury. So if they set aside their emotion, their dislike of ICA and the Anthony's , then they question the experts- each side can provide experts that say one thing and there are always experts that will discount it as well. Nurses know that science is very often guess work and hypothesis (and there were two on this jury) and I can see that they might have discounted the new science of testing air samples and thrown it out with the guy who put the pig in the blanket in a car trunk in a different environment. Many test environments allow for the manipulation of results- and provide for different interpretations. Baez blew enough smoke that there were many questions still floating around... but nothing that seemed like pure fact. I respect that they did not convict on 1st degree murder- I wouldn't have. But I really wish they gave more weight to the fact that she was a liar who walked out of the house with her daughter and her daughter was not seen by anyone else later that same day. Where was Caylee while she was in Blockbuster with TL? A real mother would know...

 

[Gardenlady]

No tomatoes from me! It's an excellent post, IMO.

I don't know how I would have voted if I wasn't privy to so much over the last 3 years, so I can't really be angry at the jury's verdict. They did the best they could based on evidence and witness testimony. I wish them all the best.

My opinions...

Thanks. I underestimated the good posters here, I got no tomatoes at all

I just know that understandably, many people's emotions are running very high atm. And I remember how hard I took the OJ verdict, having been through a domestic violence situation right around the time of the murders. I took it very personally, and felt a great injustice had been done. Took me a long time to get past that one. :/

 

[allycat1208]

I think the conflict of expert witnesses testimony was the reason that gave them a reasonable doubt. In my eyes I thought Ashton disproved the expert testimony given by Dr. Spitz, the bug guy, Huntingon and others. I thought Dr. Spitz was ludicrous but he still may have helped the defense. I also think because there was no way to really prove how Caylee died the juror could therefore not blame KC.

 

[Kat]

Although I don't agree with this jury's verdict, it is what it is.

The jury only has to weigh evidence presented to them. The burden of proof lies with the state and I"m sorry but IMHO the there just wasn't enough proof of motive. These 12 jurors had little to no prior knowledge of this case like I did. I had 3 years of prior knowledge. I had 3 years of daily reading of prior knowledge. I can't blame the jury.

I had made some notes to answer the OP's question of why did the jury come to this verdict and I deleted them off my PC and emptied the trashcan because I *thought* the state had cleared up what I thought would be problems for the jurors.

I was surprised by this verdict to say the least. As for hijinx and shenanigans in the courtroom by attn's. Both Lead counsels were at fault IMHO. I know that I'll probably get my rearend handed to me but JA should be just as ashamed of his behavior as Baez. This wasn't a game. But yet IMHO both acted as they were playing one at times. JMHO

I'm going to take some time to digest this verdict. Then once I've cleared my mind I'll go look and see if I can see where this trial went way off track. Bless you Caylee. And bless the Anthony's too because this could get a lot uglier before it gets better. JMHO

 

[iluvmua]

The West Memphis 3 had not one thing linking them to the crime and yet two were sentenced to life in prison and one to death row.

Casey was the last one seen with Caylee, didn't report her missing, etc, etc and found innocent. I'll shake my head on this for the rest of my life.

Me Too!

 

[nola]

Just my opinion...
I think that the jury did not buy into the state's motive. They obviously did buy into any seemingly true version from Casey. Casey's story about drowning gave them something they could finally believe from the person who knows what happened. Sadly they believed another of Casey's wild lies. They wanted to know the truth from Casey and Baez delivered her version of what happened in his opening statement without ever offering real evidence to back up this story ...he did what was needed with this jury to insist that if they had any questions about the how, that would be all the doubt they needed. The jury wanted to know how Caylee died, period. The state could not answer this question with black and white forensic data to back it up. The state needed to have the jury put it together with circumstantial evidence. The average juror can't do this in today's world of DNA and absolutes on TV.
Jurors needed to hear about the conflict that Casey And Cindy were engaged in over Casey's stealing. They needed to know why that day was the tipping point for Casey. Wanting to party was not a strong enough motive (even though I think that it is accurate). The jury needed to see a catalyst for this horrible act. Otherwise they were more inclined to want to believe accident. And accident is exactly the story/doubt that Baez offered up on a platter.

Disgusted with the outcome.