So, Jay Leno bombed when he tried joking about the Casey Anthony murder trial. Good: The entire thing was and is no joking matter.
The media coverage of this case was/is extensive. Even now keyboards are ablaze with comparisons to O. J. Simpson and warnings of a trial in the social media with devastating consequences for Casey.
Trying cases in the court of public opinion refers to using the media to influence public support for one side or the other. This usually results in persons outside the justice system taking action for or against a party. In this instance I suspect the reputation of Casey Anthony will be greatly damaged even though she won acquittal.
Though it is also very clear that public opinion holds that murder, especially the murder of a child, is a heinous crime and laws pertaining to it must be vigorously enforced, those same laws seek to protect the innocent while prosecuting the guilty. I have not followed this case as closely as some, but close enough to come to my own conclusions. Casey Anthony was being accused of first degree murder and facing a possible death sentence. As talented as the prosecution was it failed on two primary points: Was a murder committed? If so, was Casey Anthony the murderer?
Although it is easy to speculate on the possibility that Casey’s daughter was cruelly and sadistically murdered for very selfish reasons, plenty of reasonable doubt remained on this primary fact alone, and reasonable doubt, as we all know, warrants a verdict of not guilty.
If we assume (very dangerous) that a murder was committed, was Casey Anthony shown, beyond a reasonable doubt, to be the perpetrator? Again, there was a lot of room for speculation and the slippery slope of assumption was well greased; but beyond a reasonable doubt?
No.
No.
Now, after the fact, many are asking if there were any winners in this case. I, for one, cast my vote for the jury. Faced as they were with public pressure and prosecutorial skills, they decided the state had not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt, so they delivered a correct and very courageous verdict.
After the verdict,Jennifer Ford, a 32-year-old nursing student who was juror #3, told ABC News, "I did not say she was innocent," but also, "I just said there was not enough evidence. If you cannot prove what the crime was, you cannot determine what the punishment should be." She said that the jurors were "sick to their stomachs" over the decision to deliver a "Not Guilty" verdict and that it overwhelmed them to the point where they did not want to talk to reporters afterwards.
An unidentified 46 year old male (Juror #2), told the St. Petersburg Times that "everybody agreed if we were going fully on feelings and emotions, she was done". He stated that a lack of evidence was the reason for the not guilty verdict saying, "I just swear to God...I wish we had more evidence to put her away. I truly do...But it wasn't there." He also said that Anthony was "not a good person in my opinion".
What the future may hold for Casey Anthony appears bleak at present in spite of the verdict. Law has found her not guilty. The result of her trial in the court of public opinion remains to be seen.
