Anthony verdict

[veronica_rich]

OK, Florida fen (and others, I suppose) - I kept up almost not at all with the whole Casey Anthony thing, aside from having heard her and her daughter's name once in a while in the news the past few years. (Yeah, you might think this hard to do, but I assure you, there's plenty else in the news to occupy me, since watching certain other topics is sort of part of my job.)

What do you think about today's acquittal?

Comments

[gobsmacked.livejournal.com]

I am torn. It occupied and obsessed so many of the American networks. Inside Edition had a nightly update, as did some other shows I could hear in the background.
It seems probable that she killed her daughter, but there was not enough evidence to prove it. Moreover, I wonder whether, if they *had* proved it she would not have had basis for a mistrial given the obsessive coverage with various talking heads hammering home "Guilty guilty guilty" even as they admitted there was not sufficient evidence.

[gobsmacked.livejournal.com]

I should add that I am probably greatly influenced by this article:
http://chronicle.com/blogs/brainstorm/innocent-until-proven-guilty/36958
and recent news reports that one state has apparently had to get rid of the death penalty because they executed 13 innocent people in the past few decades.

I am also probably influenced by recent news items in Canada of the reversal of a convinction of a mother previously convicted of killing her child. The reversal was due to the fact that the coroner in the case was so incompetent that it is suspected that hundreds of cases were compromised.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Except for here on LJ, I don't know anyone personally who gives Casey the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure a lot of it is anger over a child's death, which is always a nasty business however it happens. It's hard to believe nobody will be held accountable for this, some people think, so why not suspect the person closest to the kid?

[gobsmacked.livejournal.com]

It's hard to believe nobody will be held accountable for this, some people think, so why not suspect the person closest to the kid
The desire for a scapegoat/villain has been a powerful force for injustice, as much as the anger over murder can be a force *for* justice. As a Canadian, I have been raised on stories like Steven Truscott, Guy Paul Morin and others who were convicted only because of the desire to find someone accountable for the death of a child. (The innocence of Truscott, Morin and some others has been proved by DNA and other evidence and they have all received financial compensation for wrongful conviction, so this is stricly based on fact, not feeling).


Feeling does enter into it, of course. When I watched the coverage, the tone of the tv reporting turned me off entirely. All the reportere needed was pitchforks and torches. On the other hand, looking at Casey Anthony, hearing about her behaviour and reading the ridiculous and desperate excuses that her defense came up with, was a powerful inducement to believe in her guilt.

I don't believe in Casey's innocence, but I can't say they proved her guilt in the way they needed to. (OJ Simpson all over again).