i know this is gonna go against the grain,but i disagree with the thought she got off bc she is a white woman....OJ Simpson got away with murder as well and he was a black man...Eileen Wournos a white woman convicted and put to death a white woman....Susan Smith white woman drove her 2 sons into the lake convicted of murder....im sure i could research more and find more examples,but i have to get ready for work.

as sad as it is i think it boils down to the prosecution not being able to show who,how,what, and when....as far as murder charge goes...the abuse charge being not guilty however leaves me speechlesstho

The jury has to live with themselves after this - especially when Casey parades herself around like her shit doesn't stink all over the media.

Whatever. I'm disgusted and my heart hurts over this. I didn't want this to be like the OJ feeling I had, but justice is not always as blind as they say.

I don't want to get too off track of the topic of this thread, but from what I know about this case and the Vick case, they had quite a bit more "hard" evidence to convict in the Vick case

In my opinion, the jury has to suspect that Casey is guilty of something, but all of the prosecution evidence was circumstantial. No one saw her dispose of the body, no physical (DNA) was found linking her to the crime.

If they could have found her guilty of being an unfeeling, horrible mother, I'm sure they would have, but, sadly, that is not against the law.

Yeah- on everything you say. I thought it very possible for a second degree verdict to come in or even manslaughter.

I am very interested in the instructions the judge gave the jury. I think "reasonable doubt" is the reason for the verdict in the main, but I do see race entering in.

I have to find info on the racial break-down of the jury. Am i correct in assuming that the trial is set in a upper-middle class, white jurisdiction? Florida has pockets of quite wealthy populations and pockets of very, very poor populations.

A book will be out soon, no doubt and she is going to become a rich person. What I am having so much trouble with is what Snow brings up- this was the murder of a 2 year old!! All the buzz has become about Casey and her dysfunctional family.

Yes, looking at this and comparing it to Vick's case and sentence makes me nuts (I agreed with his having jail time, however).

Having served on a jury in a criminal case (long time ago)- I have to say that there is so much the jury is not exposed to during a trial and it is charged to determine a verdict based upon the law as instructed by the judge. Reasonable doubt is a potent interpretation. I bet we hear a lot about each of these factors as coverage unfolds.

I keep thinking about how the hell do we do something to change the media racial (insert class, plus) bias with these cases as well as investigations being done with the same bias. Happens all the time.

Sentencing on the guilty counts will be held on 9 a.m. Thursday. The maximum sentence applicable in this case is four years, but having already served two and a half years behind bars, Casey Anthony stands to serve one and a half years.

actually the jury pool was put together from across the state in pinellas county...somehow they managed to get a wide array of people instead of the older,retired,military type that tend to live in that part---this is according to the news stuff i heard


so let me ask so i can be clear...are people saying she got off bc of upper,middle classs white ppl on the jury(since the jury didnt come from Orange County)..or that the whites outweighed the black and hispanic on the jury or what.....im truly interested in how race is being brought into it.

My partner, who has her J.D, said that the standard of proof is extremely high in cases such as this...meaning, if the defense could convince the jury that there is plausible reason (any reason) that she could be innocent, they must vote not guilty. I totally agree with whomever stated that she should at the very least be sterilized.

Yes, the burden of proof by the prosecution in capital cases is very narrow in terms of reasonable doubt. And the judge must make this very clear to the jury. Also, as someone brought up, the antics by both the prosecuting and defense lawyers was not played out in front of the jury.

Also, these days with the hyper-focusing of juries on forensic evidence based upon scientific investigation techniques has put a much higher bar on the prosecution in such cases. connecting the dots circumstantially isn't good enough in today's courtrooms.

If the cause of death had been determined as suffocation, the duct tape theory would have most likely changed the verdict- IF there was also forensic evidence on the duct tape like hairs, blood, fibers that connected Casey to it. From the start, no cause of death actually being found and supported by technological investigative tools has been a problem This allowed the defense to build on other possible scenerios of how this little girl died.

At first I was shocked with the verdict but in thinking more about it, I can see how reasonable doubt played into the verdict strongly.

My heart still hurts for this child and I personally believe Casey killed her, but, when I look at the burden of proof elements for the prosecution- I can see why she was not found guilty of 1st degree murder. I am wondering about why lesser offenses were not part of what the jury could make a verdict on, like second degree murder or manslaughter. I don't know how Florida courts works in terms of the degrees of guilt a jury is given to choose from in cases like this.

I wonder why the prosecution did not add "Abuse of a Corpse" to her charges? That would at least carry a felony charge that she might have been convicted for.

Race ALWAYS plays into it, as does money, privilege. I honestly feel had this been a WOC we would not see this much coverage and she would of been found guilty guilty guilty.

How often do you see kids of color this highly publicized, look at the little Latina girl killed by the minute men in Arizona.

No one wept for her, all children should have value.

In my opinion the reasons O.J. Simpson got away with murder are (1) he was a very popular football player and celebrity and (2) he was wealthy and was able to afford very, very good lawyers. The police also fucked up quite a bit in the beginning which I believe was influenced by the fact that they were giddy about O.J. Simpson being involved.

I don't believe the average African American male could get away with murder, especially of a beautiful white blonde woman, the way O.J. did. In fact I think there is a lot of evidence to prove that. They don't have his celebrity or money to overcome the fact that they are black males. O.J. won despite the fact he is black and it took a whole lot of celebrity, money and people fucking up for that to happen.

I also did serve on a jury in a murder trial (in California not Florida) and the Reasonable Doubt standard is quite high. The makeup of the jury and the effectiveness of the defense attorneys can also play a big role.

I have not followed this particular trial but the Reasonable Doubt standard could have been what saved her, but I don't rule out race and other factors for sure. The Reasonable Doubt standard is important to protect the innocent, but it can also lead to people getting away with murder if the evidence isn't strong enough or not presented effectively enough. That's tough. It really is.

The Lady Snow, are you referring to the little girl and her father who were recently killed?

Some earlier info on jury breakdown/selection-
 

new post to add i forgot Snow had said money and privilege as well so i understand the OJ thing..

Yes Ma'am... They thought it was a house full of undocumented people. Her name is BRISENIA FLORES, they were found guilty but the case was not highly publicized, her Papi was also killed his name is Raul Junior Flores.

There wasn't a lot of national attention focused on this incident, but there sure was here in Tucson. I participated in a local candle light vigil and I know there were many demonstrations that took place over the weeks following their murders. The woman in charge of the killings had clear mental health issues. The whole thing upsets me to no end.

Look up
 

The question of race is Always a issue. Oscar Grant! The question you might asks yourself is the same question you asked Snow. Find the answer by doing research, read books, go to events the talk about the race. A good book to start with is, "THE NEW JIM CROW" by Michelle Alexandar. She breaks it down in a way that folks get it. This case would not have been in the media if the players were folks of color.How do I know this? history.