Are You Watching the Casey Anthony Trial?

Casey Anthony
Casey Anthony | ABC News

I’m not really a court-TV kind of gal. I don’t watch truTV or Judge Judy or even ‘Law & Order.’ But there’s something very compelling about the Casey Anthony trial. It’s got all the twists and turns of a manufactured reality show, only this is the real thing.

It’s tough to look at the blank-faced Casey as she sits in the courtroom day after day — and yet it’s that veritable  train wreck from which you can’t look away. How could ANYONE in their right mind kill that sweet little girl Caylee? It just doesn’t seem possible. And every time the cherubic Caylee’s face flashes across the screen, our heart breaks all over again.

Then there’s the drama, both in and outside of the courtroom. You can’t imagine that the case could get any stranger, and yet, every day it does. There are allegations of George Anthony’s affair, the bewildering rumor that Casey’s brother is Caylee’s father, and then Cindy Anthony’s testimony that SHE is the one who did the chloroform searches. Really? 80-some times? Something’s fishy there.

And let’s not forget Casey’s rampant lying — everything from a non-existent nanny to a non-existent job. Diane Dimond over at The Daily Beast wrote up a nice piece in the early stages of the trial about some of the lies. But lest we forget — and as Geraldo Rivera keeps reminding us — lying doesn’t necessarily equate to murder. I’m not a legal eagle, but doesn’t there have to be “reasonable doubt”? Could Casey Anthony go free? Is she indeed as guilty as she seems?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you think Casey Anthony is a murderer? And could this family get any more dysfunctional? We’ll find out during the next court session, right?

Comments

  1. Living Large Avatar

    I’m not watching the trial everyday. I know I would be hooked. I’m an old crime and courts reporter at heart and love the Datelines, Disappeared and all of the other true crime shows. Heck, one of the first books I read as a kid was “Helter Skelter!”
    Anyway, yes, she is guilty. As sin. And for her parents and brother to still stand behind her after the disgusting allegations made by the defense is really, just bizarre. The mother has lied as many times as the daughter too. I think she’ll probably get off, unfortunately.

  2. Christine Avatar
    Christine

    This is the most bizarre and heartbreaking story and trial! I haven’t kept up with it much, but found the link in your post interesting – thanks. When will the whole trial wrap up?

    1. Jane Boursaw Avatar

      I believe they’re doing closing arguments tomorrow (?), so who knows how long those will take. It seems like there might be a verdict in the next couple of days.

  3. Vera Marie Badertscher Avatar

    I am so not watching it that I didn’t even recognize the name when it came on the radio as we were driving home from vacation last week. Sounds totally pathetic, and other people’s drama I don’t need. Have enough of my own (no, not murder, incest and…wait, isn’t this the Borgia series in modern dress??)

  4. Kerry Dexter Avatar

    not watching at all nor following the story. but Jane, I’d be interested to read a piece from you some time — maybe a couple — on televised trials, what effect that has on perceeptions of justice, real vs fictional courtroom drama, and such. just in case you were looking for something to write about…

  5. Sheryl Avatar
    Sheryl

    I have not been watching the trial; though I cannot help hearing about it on the news and reading the headlines. It is just beyond me to think that a mother could kill her own child. Yet…it happens. Even though there will be a judgement, who can trust that whatever the jurors decide will be the real “truth?”

  6. Alexandra Avatar

    Wasn’t the latest that the child drown accidentally in the pool, and the mother chose a cover-up? I have not been watching, I admit. But, I cannot help but wonder why the rest of America is. The whole thing seems so tragic. I guess that’s why, right?

  7. kerwin Avatar

    All I know is- If you let a month go by without reporting your missing child, then you are guilty of something.

    1. Jane Boursaw Avatar

      It’s all so bizarre. Even though I thought both sides did a good job of presenting their case, I was stunned when the not-guilty verdict came down. It goes back to that “reasonable doubt” thing. There just wasn’t enough solid evidence to return a guilty verdict.

  8. Kris Avatar

    I’m chiming in late on this. I didn’t follow this at all, but in hindsight, now that she’s been found not guilty, it sure seems like there should have been a middle ground between not guilty and acquittal.

    1. Jane Boursaw Avatar

      Agree, Kris. It’s a travesty that she’ll be free — in TEN DAYS, is the most recent news I heard. Sounds like she — as well as the jury and everyone else involved in her acquittal — should probably watch their back!

  9. Living Large Avatar

    I agree with Kris. While I predicted she would get off (I just didn’t think the evidence withstood the “reasonable doubt” premise), I thought why not manslaughter? Who in the world puts duct tape over a baby’s mouth and nose to make it “look like a homicide!?” Or, at the very least, child neglect, abandonment of a corpse. It’s so perverted to think this woman will now not only walk away scott-free, but will be completely free to profit (and she will become rich) off of her daughter’s death.

    1. Jane Boursaw Avatar

      I know – to get off scott-free from ALL of those bigger charges just seems crazy. It’s going to be tough seeing her profit from her daughter’s death, but like someone mentioned on one of the news shows, these types of people usually do something down the line to get back in trouble a la O.J. Simpson.

  10. Oakley Sunglasses Avatar

    I don’t know anything about the laws but I am confused about this trial and verdict. Couldn’t the jury come back and say that they couldn’t agree on an innocent or a guilty verdict and then Casey would of stayed in jail and the prosecution would of had another chance to round up evidence to prove her guilt somehow? They could of had another trial right? If this is true I don’t understand why the jury didn’t do that. and how did she get away with child neglect or child endangerment? It’s her child, she had custody, she went missing and not reported as such for 31 days and then found dead. She wasn’t protecting her child. I am just not understanding any of this. That is child neglect in my mind.

    1. Jane Boursaw Avatar

      It truly does seem like child neglect — at the very LEAST. I don’t know the ins and outs of the law, but it seemed to me that the jury was all in agreement on the charges. I also heard something about a new “Caylee’s Law,” which would make it a crime to not report a missing child. Hopefully, something good will come out of this mess.

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