2009.04.13 State To Seek Death Penalty For Casey Anthony

[jon_burrows]

I am not trying to be silly - but wouldn't death be especially awful/scary for a narcissist?

I don't think your comment is silly. A lot of people say LWOP is worse than the DP but most DP recipients fight to the end not to be put to death.

 

[ThoughtElf]

There's nothing stopping KC from authorizing her legal counsel to make a plea bargain offer to the SA. Defense can originate an offer any time they want.

Right up until the time of verdict, is that correct? I thought I read that on another thread here quite a while ago.

 

[Indybabe]

Just throwing this out there.....could this decision NOT be due to any new additional evidence, could it be due to the despicable depositions that were taken last week by GA and CA?? I thought the DP was being spared in part due to the fact that the family didn't support it? Could the SA have finally had enough with the Anthonys, and disregarded their feelings about the DP??

 

[gardenhart]

Someone can correct me if I am wrong here but I believe all it takes is one juror to say not guilty and this to be a hung trial for a do over .. on the punishment phase they can find for death or life in prison or the judge can make the final decision. Anyone out there a little more legal eagle can pls. input pls.

It varies from state to state, but in most if not all eastern states the jury recommends the sentence, the judge makes the final decision. Judges take the jury recommendation very seriously in a capital case.

If Florida is like Virginia, there will be two phases to the trial - guilt or innocence and then, if she's found guilty, a separate sentencing phase at which the jury will hear testimony about any aggravating or mitigating circumstances.

 

[jmfstl]

A jury ALWAYS has the option of not opting for death. Actually, it's the judge who sentences a defendant, but if one juror opts for life, a judge cannot impose death. If all 12 opt for death, a judge can hand down a life sentence as opposed to death. Rarely will you find a judge who goes against a jury's wishes, but it can and has happened. I really believe it takes all 12 (in death qualified states) for death to ever be imposed.

If Casey is found guilty it is the judge who imposes the sentence all the jury does is make a recomendation. The judge is the final answer as to what will be imposed. It does not matter if the jury recommends the DP or not if Strickland or whoever the judge may be it is his/her final decision.

 

[LancelotLink]

I would love to have seen the gum fall out of CA's mouth when she heard the news that the DP was back on the table, finally, justice may be done in this case! As far as CA & GA's depo antics having an impact on the states decision - give the prosecutors/State more credit than that - they don't put the DP on the table on a whim, certainly not because the parents of the suspect pizzed them off. Personally, for me, it's a no-brainer, killing a child = DP.
MOO

I whole-heartedly agree. All states should adopt this as a deterrent. It should be called the "No Brainer" law. Kill a child, off with your head!

 

[Nore]

I'm wondering if maybe they got the tox results back on the hair stuck to the duct tape and it was loaded with Xanax or chloroform thus proving that Caylee had been "medicated" over a long period of time?

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Bingo!! I think so too.The BF.said there could be traces in her hair if it was given more than once.

 

[gardenhart]

:waitasec: Now, that statement that "...Terence Lenamon from south Florida, who had tried to help Baez convince prosecutors not to seek death by claiming Casey has mental problems and that Caylee was killed possibly by an accidental drug overdose...." interests me.

Themis has been speculating that drugs/drug overdose were involved in Caylee's death, though with some type of sex perp and she was posting about it here: http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3581309#post3581309

Since death of a child due to negligence is among the capital crimes in Florida, I don't see how arguing that Caylee was killed by an accidental overdose would apply at all unless it was a medicine she was legally prescribed. I don't think we've seen anything saying Caylee was taking any prescription medicines.

 

[wandering]

If Casey is found guilty it is the judge who imposes the sentence all the jury does is make a recomendation. The judge is the final answer as to what will be imposed. It does not matter if the jury recommends the DP or not if Strickland or whoever the judge may be it is his/her final decision.

Yes, but no judge can sentence anyone to death unless the jury recommends it. He can, however, sentence her to LWOP even if the jury does recommend death. Judges are reluctant to tamper with the jury process, so whatever they recommend will probably be the sentence.

 

[tiredofthis]

Certainly could be, Broderick. Great point.

What if LE were to have found that this particular diary or notebook was not in production prior to maybe even late 2008? I tend to believe that the diary entry was written in 2008.

Okay, but wasn't there another date written on the cover?

I agree that the entry was probably written in 2008.

 

[Duckley]

I personally don't take any joy or pleaure in the fact that the DP is back on the table. I am not a big DP advocate, have always wavered in my opinion of its usage. I see this as a tactic by the SA's office to force a plea out of her. Their upping the ante as they have changes the whole dynamic, IMO. I agree that a DP qualified jury is going to be much more conservative, which doesn't bode well for a defendant.

I feel that George and Cindy have lost enough. I say this even after the disastrous depos. Call me a softie if you will, but they still lost a treasured grandchild and are suffering from it. I don't want them to be further shattered at the loss of their only daughter. But KC needs to accept the mantle of responsibility for what I believe she did. I just can't accept that somebody else killed Caylee, and there have been no indications from LE that somebody else is involved, even peripherally. I actually believe that if another person was involved, the disposal part would hae been handled better and the body never discovered. KC just is too scatterbrained to follow through on anything, even murder. She drove around for days with a decaying corpse in her trunk, and that's never good.

I think that LE seeking the DP will change the course of this case. And apparently KC needs a jolt of something to make her come to he senses. Sociopaths have a high sense of self-preservation, and that should be kicking in right about now.

I am not a DP advocate. in fact - the reverse. I agree with whoever said two wrongs don't make a right. Killing KC will not bring Caylee back.

Having said that, I do hope it results in a plea or at least a turn around from G and C. I agree that G and C are grieving grandparents and parents. However, it seems to me that have been actively covering up for KC with lies, obstruction, and quite possibly evidence tampering. I am not convinced that grief can excuse this behaviour.

 

[NancyT]

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Have you ever served on a jury with the death penalty on the table? I have and I can tell you that during the entire deliberation of guilty or not guilty, it is embedded in your mind. And yes, some jurors during selection state that they have no problem with the sentencing phase on a death penalty trial then when it goes to decision, come up with all kinds of conflicts. Your statement above: when you say "IMO, Casey walking just because a juror isn't convinced she deserves death will never wigh into this equation" is IMO inaccurate, it will definitely weigh into the equation. Some jurors will find her not guilty if they think that she will be put to death, regardless of what they said during the jury selection.

While I can admit that anything is possible, it's highly unlikely that death would keep anyone from opting for guilt as it will play NO role in whether or not death is to be handed down. A good case study might be Susan Smith. Jurors opted for guilt, but rejected death.

One has nothing to do with the other and EVERY juror will totally understand that. Just the more conservative jury is a huge advantage to the state's case. Check out the Andrea Yates case for more study on that. The state never wanted death for Andrea. They just wanted that "death qualified jury." Of course, even in the first trial, those jurors rejected death (which prevented the state from seeking it in trial #2).

And while jurors can keep anything in the back of their mind that they want, they are not to discuss the penalty phase AT ALL during the guilt/innocence phase of deliberations. All it would take would be 1 juror to speak up for that juror to be dismissed ASAP.

 

[gardenhart]

A jury ALWAYS has the option of not opting for death. Actually, it's the judge who sentences a defendant, but if one juror opts for life, a judge cannot impose death. If all 12 opt for death, a judge can hand down a life sentence as opposed to death. Rarely will you find a judge who goes against a jury's wishes, but it can and has happened. I really believe it takes all 12 (in death qualified states) for death to ever be imposed.

That's certainly not true in my state. The jury only recommends and having one juror voting against the other 11 would not prohibit the judge from imposing a death sentence or a life sentence if it went the other way.

 

[Dear Prudence]

I don't think your comment is silly. A lot of people say LWOP is worse than the DP but most DP recipients fight to the end not to be put to death.

ITA, if one of my a family or I was faced with that choice, I would pick life for sure. I'm sure prison for life is brutal, but it does include school, radio, television, exercise, reading books, etc. The DP for these people just includes a one-way trip to H&LL.

 

[wandering]

Okay, but wasn't there another date written on the cover?

I agree that the entry was probably written in 2008.

Yes, the date on it was 2003, but they have ways of determining if the same pen was used, how aged the ink is, etc.

Also, if the previous entries in front of it are dated later than 2003, that would be very telling. IIRC, the preceding pages were ripped out, but there could be pressure marks on that page that could tell it's own story as to previous dated entries. The FBI ain't dummies.

 

[Chezhire]

Since death of a child due to negligence is among the capital crimes in Florida, I don't see how arguing that Caylee was killed by an accidental overdose would apply at all unless it was a medicine she was legally prescribed. I don't think we've seen anything saying Caylee was taking any prescription medicines.

"Accidental drug overdose" could be interpreted to be an over-the-counter, as in Casey gave Caylee something for such-and-such symptoms (and who could argue about those, since no one had seen Caylee...) and accidentally misread/misgauged the medicine...

Not that I agree - mind you - just responding with an idea of what he might "say" he meant.
I think something more heinous was going on if it turns out that the SA is able to put evidence on re: drug usage and Caylee...

 

[nomoresorrow]

I honestly don't think I could be more torn about this decision.

I'm thrilled that the DP is back on the table because it indicates to me that the SA has some very damning evidence of her guilt.

However, I believe that the DP is far too lenient for KC. I would much rather see her spend every miserable minute of her life locked away in solitary confinement.

FaerieB, by the time all of the appeals are exhausted, if she gets the DP, she will have spent plenty of time locked away in solitary before she walks the last mile...IMO, I don't want this diabolical creature living out her life in prison - everyday that she lives is one more day that she has to add to her own notoriety.
MOO

 

[Angel Who Cares]

I am also remembering that April 15 in particular is going to be the worst!!

Correct Lovejac maybe thier will be more bombshell news yet to be released this week! I asked the astrolgers this question already. I don't know what else could be worse than facing a DP other than killing your own daughter.

All articles do not say of any plea bargin on the table either. They must have some very incriminationg evidence that has not been released...the tape~fingerprints....along with maybe dirt that matches from under & in her car & shoes is my guess. The clerk records do show more docs are there but have not been released yet. Does DC hold some of the answers? How did he know to go look in the woods on Nov. 15th, except to maybe have some inside info from someone? Like from Casey maybe who told LA the truth...just thinking out loud here!

 

[wandering]

That's certainly not true in my state. The jury only recommends and having one juror voting against the other 11 would not prohibit the judge from imposing a death sentence or a life sentence if it went the other way.

Well, pardon me, but there was a new law passed that states that only a jury can recommend death. That is a national law, and I believe it was passed in 2006.

Correction, that law was passed in 2002.

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/LAW/06/24/scotus.executions/index.html

 

[Nore]

While I dont want to sound cold....Its my birthday and I couldnt think of a better thing to hear today.....well except someone telling me I won the lottery!

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:HappyBday:dance: