Yesterday, a little after two in the afternoon, eastern time, millions of people tuned in to see what they expected. They got a surprise. Instead of seeing a woman convicted of murdering her child, they saw the Constitution working.
Why isn’t this shocking?
It is shocking that someone is found not guilty of murder. Acquittals on First Degree Murder charges are pretty rare. It is even more rare when the state is seeking the death penalty.
Many were outraged that the jury acquitted Casey Anthony. There is nothing to be outraged about. It was a great example of the Constitution at work.
Thanks to the 6th Amendment of the Constitution, Casey Anthony had the right to a fast, speedy and public trial by a jury of her peers. It did take the case three years to get to trial, but that was as much the fault of the defense as the State.
Casey Anthony was given the right to confront her accusers. She was present in court at every occasion and during every minute of her trial. She was given the right to subpoena witnesses.
Thanks to the 5th Amendment, Casey Anthony was indicted by a grand jury. She had the right not to testify and exercised that right. The prosecutor in the case was not allowed to comment on the fact she did not testify
Thanks to the 5th Amendment, she will not be tried for this case again. The government may not retry a case over and over again until it gets the verdict it wanted.
The Casey Anthony trial was problematic to begin with. The State had some huge problems to overcome. In order to secure a murder conviction, the State must not only prove that someone was murdered, but they were murdered by the accused. This was the huge problem this case had. No one saw the death of the child. By the time the child’s body was discovered, it was almost impossible to determine the cause of death.
Casey Anthony never confessed to killing her child. She did lie to the police and that is suspicious in itself, but without a witness to the murder or a confession, securing a conviction is all but impossible.
Trying a murder case is tough. I know. I have tried them. I spent 23 years practicing law, including ten years as a prosecutor. I just tried what is likely my last jury trial two weeks ago.
Most of the time, the jury gets it right.
Trial by jury may be an imperfect system, but it is better than all of the alternatives. The trial by jury was specifically added to our constitution in criminal cases as a check against the overwhelming power of the state.
Bad facts make bad cases and the Anthony case had a lot of bad facts. Casey Anthony may well have killed her child and may well have gotten away with murder. But the Constitution that protected her and allowed this verdict protects each and every one of us against political prosecutions.
What we saw with the verdict yesterday was the Constitution working, just like it is supposed to.
As horrifying as this case was, I can live with that verdict.
Posted by Judson Phillips on July 6, 2011 at 7:49am in Tea Party Nation Forum
Some of the Comments:
#1 Thanks for this post!! Couldn't have said it better. I believe down deep that Casey Anthony did it but you are right the Constitution worked. And we must always support the Constitution, even if we don't like the outcome, just like we must insist that the Constitution is upheld, when we like it or not. And this is what isn't and hasn't happened with Obama, his policies, his bending of the law and as many agree even his eligibility. As horrific as this case and the death of this little girl was, we all need to wonder why America in general isn't as interested or involved in the death of our nation!
I do feel that the jury was absolutely wrong, with the evidence produced, in not charging Casey with neglect!
As for Casey, if the jury got it wrong, we all know her final judgment will come from a much higher "juror" and just look at OJ, sometimes is doesn't take until the next life!
As for the comment below about Casey being appointed the "The Safe Toddler Czar", if we don't all start speaking and standing up and demanding things change... it could happen! Look at that perverted nut Kevin Jennings that has been serving as the "Safe Schools Czar". Kevin Jennings: Teaching Your Kids to Live the Porn Life and (content warning on this one) Breaking: Obama's "Safe Schools Czar" Id Promoting Child Porn in the Classroom - Kevin Jennings and the GLSEN Reading List
#2 My first thought was... this is the jury I would want if I were accused.
I really expected a guilty verdict, but I couldn't say she did murder the little girl or how.
I couldn't figure who else would have. She had responsibility for her. Didn't report her missing.
Didn't act like she was sorry to not know where she was. Acted very guilty, by her lack of worry.
But proof, really , I think the jury was right. That doesn't mean she's innocent, or that I believe she's innocent.
Just that they didn't prove her guilty.
#3 This woman got away with murder. Like O. J., she should not be allowed to profit from her infamous crime. In my opinion, the jury got it wrong, just like in the O. J. case. I will boycott any company, publisher or advertiser that promotes this woman. This is outrageous.
The constitution worked. However, justice was not carried out for little Caylee. If Casey Anthony did not murder her child and throw the body away in the swampy area, then who did? She was the last one to have been seen with the child. She lied and covered up the child being missing for 31 days, long enough for decomposition to have set in so that cause of death could not be determined. By the time the body was found almost six months later in the swamp, there was no DNA or forensics.
The verdict had to be reached using common sense. The technicalities surrounding forensics, meant little because of the badly decomposed body. Casey made sure that what did not happen through natural decomposition, the animals would take care of the rest.
In a just turn of fate, perhaps Casey's remains will be decomposed, thrown into the swamp, and gnawed away by the animals, like her daughter's. That would be justice and fate. What goes around comes around. Until that day comes, she is a "persona non gratis" in our society. Like O. J., wherever she goes, her infamous deed will follow her. She must not be allowed to profit from this crime, which will go unpunished by the criminal justice system, and our constitution.
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