Terminalcoffee discussion

Verdict came in today.

Not guilty of killing the child.

Guilty of lying to law enforcement.

Sheesh. I haven't been paying too close attantion but my parents haven't been leaving the house for not being able to tear themselves away! I better call. What do you all think?

I was just going to post this, you beat me to it Phil.

I think Casey Anthony did more than just give false information. She changed her story and her motivations so many times, she definitely comes off as a pathological liar to me. Your child goes missing and you don't report it for a month? There's more than just her daddy issues at work here. I don't want to just point my finger and say she did it, but I don't believe a caring mother parties and gets tattoos while her child is missing or, as she claimed to have already known due to a pool accident, dead.

Edit: Actually, I am pointing and accusing the television as we speak. I've been pretty sure she's guilty for a while now. I've had to watch the updates every goddamn day on CNN for months, and I don't know how this verdict is even possible. The smell of death in Casey's trunk? Duct tape? Chloroform internet searches? A tattoo that reads "beautiful life" not long after the child goes missing, as well as partying like a freaking college student? Blaming alternately: dad, babysitter, ex-boyfriend? Give me a break, this is a spoiled brat who didn't want the responsibility of raising her child, so she killed her, lied about it and couldn't even keep her lies straight.

I'm astonished! She absolutely did it. And I think her story about her father is just that - a story. Wow.

Still, there was no smoking gun. A funny thing happens when you're in a jury - you pay attention to the law itself, and the evidence. Or in this case, lack of. Altho all her actions point to guilt, and all the circumstantial evidence does as well. I wonder what I would have voted if I was on the jury?

Amber - she's a sociopath for sure.

Hopefully she'll get her ass kicked in jail. I'm waiting for the sentence.

I don't know the circumstances of the case and I have no emotional investment in the verdict (my wife is very upset). What bothered me was how the "news" teams filled the space between entering the courtroom and the verdict.

These people had body language experts talking about the defendant "chewing her nails" and looking nervous, while in the past she had been stoic, sometimes even smiling or laughing with her attorneys.

There was other stuff that I can't remember at the moment, because I've blocked it from my mind. I was shouting at the TV, "you stupid fucks, that has nothing to do with NEWS, that's just fucking gossip!"

Truthfully, it sounded like an episode of The Bachelor.

What passes for news reporting these days is pathetic.

The perceived need to fill air time leaves a lot of space for useless things to be said.

Just heard that her first exclusive interview is being shopped around for 7 figures. Unbelievable.

Although I admit that I don't know all the particulars of this case or trial but this reminds me of the movie The Twelve Angry Men ...Anthony spun tales.

This chaps my hide!
So amazing that she is found not guilty and there are countless cases of people in jail who are innocent.
Go figure.

Lori wrote: "Just heard that her first exclusive interview is being shopped around for 7 figures. Unbelievable."


What the hell...I am sickened by all of it.

BunWat wrote: "There's a difference between looking guilty and being proven guilty. If the prosecution couldn't prove their case, then she doesn't get thrown in jail no matter how guilty she may look. I actuall..."

Yes. What Bun said.

Who the heck watches court TV, or even any TV news for that matter, not me. I remember this case from 3 years ago. Was actually surprised the trial hadn't already happened. It made the news then, and the trial has been on the BBC site.

Just a horrible thing all around.

The criminal case is over, can there be a civil case by the state, or is that only brought by a personal accusation? I remember with OJ that the civil case was by Nicole and whashisname's parents.

I'm disgusted with the whole thing. That sick excuse for a mother, the relentless media and the people watching the whole thing like it's some kind of spectator sport!

Jennifer - Everyone is making fun of Nancy Grace now - I have no idea who she is. Apparently a trial reporter? And I guess she was all over TV? Declaring how the jury will definitely say guilty. That's part of the spectator circus, glad I missed it all.

It really has been a fascinating case. I think even Casey's mother lied by saying she did the chloroform internet search, got no proof of course, but odd that she didn't mention that 3 years ago.

I dunno, between this and the OJ trial, it really proves just how important the defense team is. Ie money. That's what gets to me, the money involved in our justice system.

Defendants are found guilty on nothing more than circumstantial evidence every day. Just because all you have is circumstantial doesn't mean you can't get a conviction. From what I'd heard, her defense team wasn't even that good - her primary attorney was a bit of a beginner, and the judge had to keep reminding him to stay on course. But they were good enough to create doubt in the jury's minds, obviously.

She won't do any more jail time, is my guess. She's been incarcerated, so her sentence will be time served.

Lori- I agree that from a forensic and evidentiary veiwpoint this case is very interesting. I'd love to see it as an episode of CSI or a similar show. I'm just so sickened by these "celebrity" murderers getting away with it because they can afford to hire a high power attorney.

Phil wrote: "BunWat wrote: "There's a difference between looking guilty and being proven guilty. If the prosecution couldn't prove their case, then she doesn't get thrown in jail no matter how guilty she may l..."

I agree as well. The prosecution has the burden to prove her guilty beyond doubt. They did not do that. This crime/trial brought back a lot of memories of the Jon Benet Ramsey case up the road in Boulder. It has never gone to trial and probably will never be solved. I will never understand how anyone could murder a child. Casey and her family will have to live with whatever they did to Caylee or did not do to protect her.

Phil, yes, that's what this has reminded me of, the Jon Benet case. Unsolved crimes. People getting away with murder. And on a child.

I thought evidence finally came to light that proved Jon Benet's parents innocent.

As for the Anthony trial, had I have been on the jury, I wouldn't have convicted her either. I could never sentence someone, potentially to death, based on circumstance. Prosecution couldn't even prove how she died, when or where. The entire case was based on a story provided by individuals who have been caught lying more than once.

I'm not sure this is a case of expensive, high-profile defense lawyers gaming the system. By all accounts her lawyers were not that good. What happened was the media, especially the grotesquely biased HLN decided she was guilty (and FWIW I think she did kill her daughter) but the prosecutors just didn't have the evidence to get a capital murder conviction: no cause of death, no murder weapon, a contaminated crime scene... A mess.

It seems like a travesty, but apparently the system worked like it was intended to. There was reasonable doubt, so the jury had very little choice. At least in my opinion.

The prosecution, not the media, were the ones who needed to convince the jury beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecution didn't do that, so she was found not guilty. That doesn't mean the system failed, it means that this particular set of prosecutors failed.

That said, anyone paying Ms. Anthony a dime for speaking should be covered in honey and left on a fire ant nest.

I'm curious where Casey will go after she's let go. She lived with her parents before, I highly doubt they are going to welcome her after her claim that George sexually abused her.

Well, she won't be in jail, but she won't get a job, she'll be ostracized, etc.

Does anyone know if Nancy Grace's head has exploded yet?

I try really hard to imagine a world without Nancy Grace.