By: Dale M. King
For 40 days and 40 nights, it rained words in the Orlando Courthouse as 12 citizens gathered to judge Casey Anthony’s guilt or innocence in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.
So many nasty words were said: “Fantasy forensics,” “that laughing guy over there,” “the smell of death,” “hair banding” and “the skull fell out of the bag.” So much acrimony, too.
Dale M. King
When the trial was over, and the ear-piercing blare of the “not guilty” verdict subsided, one thing was very clear to me. That poor kid in the courtroom who gave Ashton the finger ended up doing more jail time than Casey.
Where’s the justice in that, Mr. Baez? Or Mr. Stark? Or Judge Perry?
No, Mr. Stark, you spent too much time blasting us guys in the media for turning this trial into a three-ring circus. And you, Mr. Baez, I read about your antics – a ninth-grade drop-out who got a GED and a law degree here in South Florida, only to be barred until 2005 by the Florida Supreme Court from using that degree. Casey picked you as her attorney on recommendation from other inmates.
Nice job, sir. I’m putting you on the list with Bob Shapiro, Johnny Cochran and the rest of the OJ “Dream Team.”
By the way, O.J. Simpson swore that he would spend the rest of his life trying to find his wife’s “real” killer. Will Casey take the same oath? Or will she stick to her lies and try to blame it on her father, her ex-fiancé or maybe even Ray Kronk?
So what happens now? The case is over. Casey has been judged not guilty. “I was shocked” became a household phrase – and court watchers invented a new adjective: “We’ve been OJ’ed.”
Like many people, including prosecutor Jeff Ashton, I’m not happy with the verdict. I think jurors who claimed there wasn’t enough evidence gave no credence to the fact that Casey didn’t report her daughter missing for 31 days, that she created lie-strewn stories about where she was and what she was doing. I think duct tape and the chloroform either worked together or separately to kill the beautiful, dark-eyed girl.
Really, Casey, if you didn’t want to be a mother – if you’d rather party, sleep with any guy that moves, have yourself tattooed knowing your daughter is gone, then why didn’t you put her up for adoption?
The Anthonies have been called a dysfunctional family. Is that an excuse for what happened? Did Caylee Anthony die of dysfunctionality? (There’s your cause of death, jurors.) Does it take the death of a 2-year-old for dysfunctionality to become homicide?
I saw Jeff Ashton being interviewed the night before Casey Anthony was sentenced. He seemed calmer, and by then he could accept the fact that a not guilty verdict had been rendered. But the pain of that prosecution has forced him to quit the office of the prosecution – and we are losing an exceptional jurist.
If he can accept verdict, then I can accept it. But there are things I can’t accept. I can’t accept the idea of 2-year-old children dying for no reason. I can’t accept the fact that someone can go missing for 31 days without being reported. I remember once my wife didn’t come straight home from work. By 7:30 p.m., I was calling her friends, and was about to call the sheriff’s office when she came in. I did this because I love my wife. How much did Casey love Caylee?
Though the jury said there was no cause of death, the fact is, Caylee Marie Anthony is dead. Do you really think there is someone still out there prowling the neighborhoods of Orlando looking for little kids to kill?
Casey Anthony was to leave prison yesterday. We can only assume she partied through the night. Will she really live “the beautiful life” now – or will she wallow in regret?