# Casey Anthony . Guilty or not ? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 3, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745 "2011-07-03T20:04:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![PetW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@PetW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetW)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2011, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/201 "2011-07-05T23:13:42Z")
[And the Inadvertently Tasteless Tweet of the Day award goes to:](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/05/entenmanns-twitter-casey-anthony-verdict_n_890723.html) [QUOTE=Entenmann’s] Who’s #notguilty about eating all the tasty treats they want?! [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/202 "2011-07-05T23:21:23Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > You really think so? I think the Judge will show how “fair” he is by sentencing her like he would anyone else. I call time served and she will be out smoking weed and sucking dick by Thursday night. HA! 😛 I’m hoping the judge gives the maximum 4 years and she still needs to serve at least one freakin’ year. I still do not understand why she wasn’t found guilty on the child abuse charges by not reporting her missing then misleading the investigation. But we didn’t see anyone testifying that she drugged/spanked/neglected Caylee in the past. As others have pointed out, she owes the IRS a ton of money, lawyer fees, and I seriously doubt she’ll ever be thought of as innocent by many people. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2011, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/203 "2011-07-05T23:26:25Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > It was underwater for 6 months? Are you sure about that? That is not true. What weighted down the body to be underwater? Nobody said that that area had water for 6 months. > > Besides, those woods are tiny, smaller than a football field, if I had been down there with my dog searching I would have found the body the first day. > > Also, there were searchers that, including investigators hired by the Anthony’s. The Anthonys told the searchers that the body was there and to search there. Any searcher with a dog, any bow hunter, would have found that body - esp after being tipped off that the body WAS there. Anyone/any bow hunter who can find a dead deer with an arrow in it can find that body. It is not remarkable, thousands of bowhunters do so every day, it is a routine part of bowhunting. One does a back and forth, or, a spiral pattern search, and by doing so can cover every square foot of that small wooded area in less than a day. I must say that you have a remarkable grasp of the facts that can only recall from watching HLN as you review them. As I said in my OP or implied, I just don’t see the evidence that connects Casey anymore than George and I won’t be swayed by her bizarre behavior which just doesn’t make any sense at all if she was a murdererer. And now you have been vindicated ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/204 "2011-07-05T23:34:40Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > People are driving me nuts with this “reasonable doubt” argument because the 45 circumstantial things that linked Casey to the crime were not enough, but by golly old George better be worried because, um, um, well his face was red!!! It’s a tough nut, because although it’s pretty clear that _something_ terrible happened, it’s really hard to be certain what, because everything about the situation is as crazy as a soup sandwich. The suggestion that Casey was abused by her father makes it particularly difficult to sort out, because it provides a frame of reference in which could mitigate our perception of some of Casey’s worst behaviour. Is she a pathological liar, cynically spinning outlandish tales to mislead good people? Or is an irreversibly damaged person who limps along with a coping mechanism of habitually inventing scenarios in which everything is just fine and none of this is really happening, deluding herself into accepting that this is true? Some of her behaviour might be more explicable under this circumstance, such as keeping up the pretense that she worked at Universal Studios even to the point of taking police there to show them where she worked. I don’t find the defense’s alternate scenario credible at all, but any number of other things _might_ have happened and the prosecution didn’t really offer much to actually support their scenario. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/205 "2011-07-05T23:49:44Z")
I hoped to count on the integrity of this community. When I checked the poll for the number of those who predicted not guilty of 1st degree murder there were 22. Now it is 23 . We have an imposter ! ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/206 "2011-07-05T23:54:51Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > I hoped to count on the integrity of this community. When I checked the poll for the number of those who predicted not guilty of 1st degree murder there were 22. Now it is 23 . We have an imposter ! Maybe it’s the Real Killer, coming to SDMB to see how the Triumph Of Justice is being received by the Teeming Millions… ---
**Author:** ![Dusty\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba8739/32.png) [@Dusty\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty_Rose)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/207 "2011-07-05T23:58:02Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > For lots of reasons, some large, some small. But let me state from the outset that I don’t claim to know what happened, I just find certain scenarios to be very unlikely. > > First of all, death by duct tape doesn’t fit with the theory that Casey was drugging/restraining Caylee but didn’t intend to kill her. The tape would have become impossibly stuck in her hair and wouldn’t have been practical to remove after she was done getting her party on. Additionally, no such drugs/chloroform were found anywhere, including in toxicological screenings of Caylee’s remains. > > So then, what about using the tape as the weapon in an intentional premeditated murder? On the one hand the prosecution wants you to believe that Casey was smart and planned this for some time, even supposedly researching elaborate methods on the internet. On the other hand, she ends up using duct tape to do the deed? The prosecution trotted out chloroform as being used prior to the tape coup-de-grace, the only problem is there is no credible evidence of chloroform whatsoever. There’s at least 1000 more simple, effective, fool-proof, obvious and just plain better and more pleasant? ways to kill your own child than using duct tape. And contrary to what the movies might have you believe, taping someone’s mouth shut is just not that effective. People have teeth, wet tongues, lips, and jaws they can move to displace any tape blocking their ability to breathe or talk. If you plan to kill someone, particularly your own child, I find it very hard to believe someone would choose duct tape. And if for some strange reason they did, I just don’t see leaving it on afterward. > > So why the tape? I find two explanations for the tape more likely, both being applied post-mortem. First would be a crude attempt at making it look like a kidnapping, duct taped mouths being so de rigueur in movie kidnappings. The other possibility, (and this is VERY gross and sad) was that the tape was used in an attempt to stop the flow of bodily fluids and the smell from decomposition. > > Both the coroner and prosecution said that there is no reason except murder for the tape to be there, which was the ONLY way they could declare the death a homicide and (even though cause of death is unknown) charge Casey Anthony with murder. I just gave two possible reasons, both of which are more plausible than duct tape as premeditated murder weapon, IMO. That makes a lot of sense. (Especially in light of the jury’s findings.) Thank you for answering me. Personally, I am saddened; I truly feel like she got away with murder. Lying liars aren’t supposed to win, right? Silly to be that naive at my age, though, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/208 "2011-07-06T00:03:07Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > I don’t find the defense’s alternate scenario credible at all, but any number of other things _might_ have happened and the prosecution didn’t really offer much to actually support their scenario. So? As long as it’s the only reasonable explanation offered that fits all events, there is no reasonable doubt. According to everyone here, a juror cannot consider any theories other than those presented. If no reasonable alternative was presented, how was there reasonable doubt? And if jurors are allowed to make up their own theories of what happened, what’s their theory that would allow her not to have at least been violating neglect? No, this clearly shows that the jury bought the dumbest defense possible. And we have ourselves to thank for insuring an uninformed jury. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/209 "2011-07-06T00:06:00Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Circumstantial evidence is good enough. And with circumstantial evidence, you can take it piece by piece and say, “This isn’t enough” and “This isn’t enough” and “That isn’t enough” but when you put them together, you’ve got to conclude, it’s not reasonable for all of these things to happen to an innocent person. Unless enough pieces of circumstantial evidence are refuted adequately by the defense, which is what I assume happened with the jury today. > [@jtgain](#): > > If she gets out Thursday, she can legally buy a gun and apply for a Florida concealed weapons permit. Good job jurors. Your ability to second guess jurors who have been involved with this case for weeks, and to do so with such certainty, is disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Dusty\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba8739/32.png) [@Dusty\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty_Rose)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/210 "2011-07-06T00:38:05Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > On another note, she was only convicted of 4 misdemeanors. If she gets out Thursday, she can legally buy a gun and apply for a Florida concealed weapons permit. Good job jurors. > [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > Unless enough pieces of circumstantial evidence are refuted adequately by the defense, which is what I assume happened with the jury today. > > Your ability to second guess jurors who have been involved with this case for weeks, and to do so with such certainty, is disgusting. I don’t find it disgusting at all. The thought that she can legally buy and carry a gun would scare the hell out of me! I’m reallllly glad I don’t live in Florida! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/211 "2011-07-06T00:38:43Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > Your ability to second guess jurors who have been involved with this case for weeks, and to do so with such certainty, is disgusting. You do know the entire trial was broadcast on TV and the internet, correct? Many, many people have seen the entire trial. It’s all [here](http://www.wftv.com/caseyanthony/28083402/detail.html). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/212 "2011-07-06T00:57:17Z")
What a shocker. I expected a man slaughter conviction. There were always major issues with the premeditated charge. Too many unanswered questions about how the child died, where she died, and even exactly when she died. I guess those issues made even man slaughter a problem for the jury. You can only stretch circumstantial evidence so far. Now, I can get my life back. I’ve watched every minute of testimony. I hope Casey uses this experience constructively. She’s been given a second chance at life. She’ll have to carry the guilt of whatever she really did to her child. That could easily drive her into heavy drinking and drugs. Her future could go either way. Plus it’s obvious this girl has some major issues. Normal people don’t invent an entire fantasy world and live in it for years. I bet meetings with her parents will be awkward. The defense threw the whole screwed up family under the bus. George, especially got raked over the coals. They may not even let her in the house. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/213 "2011-07-06T01:04:36Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I bet meetings with her parents will be awkward. The defense threw the whole screwed up family under the bus. George, especially got raked over the coals. They may not even let her in the house. Maybe Casey’ll drown in the pool too, unless a fairy nanny kidnaps her first! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/214 "2011-07-06T01:10:35Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > No, this clearly shows that the jury bought the dumbest defense possible. And we have ourselves to thank for insuring an uninformed jury. It is not necessary for the defense to demonstrate an alternative theory. Mostly, they try, but only as a part of their goal of creating a reasonable doubt in the case of the prosectution. It is not necessary for the jury to believe an alternative theory in order to decide that the prosecution’s case was not proved beyond a reasonable doubt. ---
**Author:** ![PetW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@PetW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetW)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/215 "2011-07-06T01:15:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I hope Casey uses this experience constructively. She’s been given a second chance at life. She’ll have to carry the guilt of whatever she really did to her child. I doubt she’s capable of feeling guilt. She’ll make a bunch of money off of her fame and live the Bella Vita somewhere where nobody knows who she is. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/216 "2011-07-06T01:21:55Z")
Jeff Ashton is retiring. I recall reading he’s been a prosecutor over 30 years. WAG He may have delayed retirement to finish the Casey A. case. Losing cases are part of the job. I doubt this loss had anything to do with his decision. [http://www.wftv.com/news/28454599/detail.html](http://www.wftv.com/news/28454599/detail.html) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/217 "2011-07-06T01:29:54Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > So? As long as it’s the only reasonable explanation offered that fits all events, there is no reasonable doubt. According to everyone here, a juror cannot consider any theories other than those presented. If no reasonable alternative was presented, how was there reasonable doubt? The problem is that it doesn’t. The prosecution’s version of events isn’t really any more solid than the defense position and they really over-reached. The whole thing is inexplicable. At the end of it, I have no flipping idea what happened. I think she is beyond screwed up, but yeah, I have doubt that she willfully murdered her kid, and the theory that her sexually abusive father persuaded her to pretend it was a kidnapping isn’t any more outlandish than what the prosecution asked them to believe, and there’s just about as much evidence for it. (Which is to say it’s hardly there at all.) With hindsight, it seems that they rushed the case to trial before they really had one - though I don’t blame them for their confidence. I don’t know the perspective that the jurors have, but I don’t see conclusive evidence from the prosecution, and I don’t see any motive. The problem is that nothing really makes sense, and when it comes right down to it, an accident and subsequent bizarre misguided behaviour may seem as plausible as the alternative “She committed cold-blooded, calculated murder to free up more time for herself” theory. Personally, I find that _really_ hard to reconcile with the [photos of her with her daughter](http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-504083_162-10004686.html?tag=page). I mean, I’ve seen people who regret and resent their children, and that doesn’t look like it to me. How to you get from there to “I’m going to snuff out your life and carry on alone?” I don’t know. If we were going to get to know for sure what happened, and I had to bet - I’d probably still bet that it was murder. But I’d want to be a bit more persuaded of that before putting her in line for a lethal injection. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/218 "2011-07-06T02:14:50Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I bet meetings with her parents will be awkward. The defense threw the whole screwed up family under the bus. George, especially got raked over the coals. They may not even let her in the house. She showed no sympathy for them, in the jailhouse interviews or in the courtroom. At the least, she’s out of the will. Alan Dershowitz opined that the prosecutors overcharged, and that if they’d gone with a lesser offense, the result might have been different. ETA: Baez’s comments about the death penalty were interesting – does he mean that it was the death penalty that persuaded the jurors? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/219 "2011-07-06T02:29:33Z")
Within two years I wouldn’t be surprised if Cindy is telling people that her darling child has never been in trouble with the law. Just like she denied Casey was pregnant at the family wedding. Even after being confronted with a photo of an obvious six month baby bump. George and Cindy testified they didn’t think she was pregnant then. Baez even used the photo in closing to drive home how delusional this family is. That is a weird family. I wonder if they’ll leave the Orlando area? Their address is easily found on the internet. The floor plan was even shown during the trial. I’d want to move and regain my privacy. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745/220 "2011-07-06T03:08:27Z")
Sarah Palin comments on the verdict: “Once again we see, with our nation in crisis, President Obama stands by and does idly nothing while an injustice is committed here in this glorious nation of ours. It’s almost strange that the president has not yet made one statement on the issue of the death of young Caylee Anthony. Why the strange silence, Mr. President?” Okay, not [really](http://www.salon.com/news/2012_elections/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/07/05/casey_anthony_2012). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casey-anthony-guilty-or-not/587745.md?page=12)