Casey Anthony trial -- anyone watching it? (trigger warning)

[blanc]

I may have missed something, 8-bit agent, coming from the outside, but it seemed to me that the prosecution relied on the theory that the mother rid herself of her child in order to party. It relied on the testimony of the grandparents to prove that at the time of the child's disappearance, the mother was in sole charge. It further largely relied on the testimony of the grandfather as to the smell which he identified as being of human decomposition coming from her car. All of this seems shaky to me. A mother kills her child rather than leave it with her parents? She kills a child whom her friends and boyfriend have accepted as part of her life and allowed into their home? She can rely on her father to pick up her car but not her child? These grandparents allegedly introduced the drowning theory by suggestion (in a conversation between the accused woman and her mother). They (grandparents) care enough to block the adoption of the child, but not enough to ensure basic child safety such as child locks on patio doors? It looks rather like the police, in the absence of definitive forensic evidence, stuck it on the family member who was most obviously flaky - whose story jumped around with inconsistencies and fabrications, who was an unconvincing liar.

[No_Baseline]

If she's innocent...well, then what alternate theories are people saying? Maybe a dingo dragged her child away, and she was too busy partying to notice?

I may have missed something, 8-bit agent, coming from the outside, but it seemed to me that the prosecution relied on the theory that the mother rid herself of her child in order to party. It relied on the testimony of the grandparents to prove that at the time of the child's disappearance, the mother was in sole charge. It further largely relied on the testimony of the grandfather as to the smell which he identified as being of human decomposition coming from her car. All of this seems shaky to me. A mother kills her child rather than leave it with her parents? She kills a child whom her friends and boyfriend have accepted as part of her life and allowed into their home? She can rely on her father to pick up her car but not her child? These grandparents allegedly introduced the drowning theory by suggestion (in a conversation between the accused woman and her mother). They (grandparents) care enough to block the adoption of the child, but not enough to ensure basic child safety such as child locks on patio doors? It looks rather like the police, in the absence of definitive forensic evidence, stuck it on the family member who was most obviously flaky - whose story jumped around with inconsistencies and fabrications, who was an unconvincing liar.

I believe the prosecution did rely on the theory that the mother rid herself of her child in order to party - however with one caveat that the defendant also had a tempestuous relationship with her mother. This, to me, makes all the difference in this case. She could not just abandon her child with her parents (in lieu of murdering her) because for whatever reason she did not get along with her own mother.

She was a proven thief - even if you take the parents out of this equation who alleged she also stole from them (because they may or may not have had involvement in/or lied about the child's murder), there are still testaments from her grandmother and close friend (who filed a separate police report regarding the theft of checks and credit card) about this.

Does this point to murder? No, but to me, it does point to an inability to lead an independent life apart from sponging and then stealing from family, and when they were privy to her actions, her friends. How long could she continue to steal with a child in tow before she was caught - and the child was sent to her parents anyway? I have no idea, of course, if this was running through her mind at the time, but she may have felt that her actions were closing in on her (becoming pregnant as a teen, becoming reliant on her parents under their roof when she became a parent, stealing when she could not provide a life away from them, exhibiting independence by partying; perhaps from a mother who kept a tight grip) of course this is conjecture, but to me it does fill in many a blank with which the prosecution could not (or failed to) connect the dots and which does not disprove that the mother did it.

[8bitagent]

You two make some good points, I guess I never really looked into the matter. But unless the girl just wandered off on her own and starved to death, there's a killer out there. And I'm surprised the incompetent DA or cops or someone never bothered to look into alternate explanations and suspects.

I remember the grizzly Memphis 3 case from 1993, and how the night of the killings a man was seen in a Dennys bathroom covered in blood. One of many leads the investigators never seemed to look into.

Anyways, just seemed odd that we never heard much in the way of alternate theories of how the girl died.

[Pele'sDaughter]

http://www.news9.com/story/15084225/wom ... y-attacked

Chouteau Clerk Mistaken For Casey Anthony Attacked With Minivan

CHOUTEAU, Oklahoma -- An Oklahoma woman believes outrage over the Florida murder case almost cost her her life. The 26-year-old says a crazed woman tried to kill her because the woman thought she was Casey Anthony.

It happened in Chouteau last Friday night, July 8, 2011, just days after the Casey Anthony verdict.

Sammay Blackwell hopes she never hears this again:

"You look like Casey Anthony, I'm like 'okay,'" she said.

Blackwell doesn't think it's funny after what happened last week.

Blackwell works at a convenience store in Chouteau and said Shireen Nalley came in that night around 10 p.m. and looked strange, very suspicious, then left after buying gas.

"I just couldn't keep my eyes off of her," she said.

Sammay got off work at 10:30 that night and walked out to her car, which was parked on the other side of the building, and got inside.

"Began to back out and looked and I could tell she was staring directly at me; I could almost see the whites of her eyes," she recalled.

"I proceeded to pull out of the parking lot, and she was right behind me," Sammay said.

Blackwell drove a few miles and says Nalley suddenly rammed her van into the back of Blackwell's truck.

"I said, 'Oh my God, help me,'" Blackwell told News On 6. She then pulled into a parking lot to get away.

"She hit me again, causing my vehicle to flip two and a half times, landing on the driver's side, and I just laid there playing dead," she said.

Blackwell's mother says she'll never forget her daughter's reaction.

"I got to her, she was crying, she was shaking, she says, 'Mama, this lady thinks I'm Casey Anthony and she tried to kill me," her mother said.

Police chased Nalley for a while and finally arrested her for assault and battery with a deadly weapon. Nalley told police she was "trying to save the children."

"She said that I was trying to hurt babies, I was killing babies and she was going to stop it before it happened again," Blackwell recalled. "She could have taken me away from my family, my daughter."

Blackwell's daughter is also named Caylee -- the only thing Sammay said she has in common with Casey Anthony.

"I don't look that much like her, so what about people who actually do look like her and live closer to Florida, instead of Oklahoma, what's going to happen to those people?" she said.

Nalley is in the Mayes County Jail on complaints of assault and battery with a deadly weapon, leaving the scene of a vehicle collision, resisting arrest and reckless driving. She is being held on a $25,000 bond.

Police say Nalley seemed to be on drugs when they arrested her.

Sammay Blackwell wants to get a restraining order against Nalley. Blackwell also says she's struggling with Nalley's car insurance right now and claims the company won't cover the damage if Nalley hit her on purpose.

[blanc]

Thanks to irresponsible pre-trial reporting, many people seem unable to accept that there might have been a different person responsible for the child's death.

[sunny]

Casey Anthony lawyer, Cheney Mason, says client, attorneys, jurors have received death threats

By Michael Sheridan
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sunday, July 10th 2011, 10:53 AM

Casey Anthony may have been acquitted of murder, but death continues to haunt her, as well as everyone around the reviled Florida woman.

Following reports that her parents, George and Cindy Anthony, received several death threats last week, Casey's lawyer says his office has also received a few.

Cheney Mason, who famously flipped the bird to photographers following his client's shocking death penalty dodge, says his team has received "all kinds of threats," according to TMZ.

"One we just turned over to law enforcement," the attorney told the gossip website.

The threats supposedly target not only the defense team, but also Casey herself and the jurors who found her "not guilty."

Casey's parents were slammed with several phone calls last week allegedly threatening violence against the couple, authorities said.

"We are assessing," Sheriff's spokesman Capt. Angelo Nieves told the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday. "We are also making an effort to identify the callers."

Link

Casey Anthony Juror Flees State in Fear

By IB Times Staff Reporter | July 13, 2011 8:41 AM EDT

The woman who served as a juror in Casey Anthony case got so terrified by her co-workers' reaction that she quit her job and fled her home, her husband said.

The woman, whose identity could only be marked as Juror Number 12, worked in a grocery store in an Orlando supermarket. She was so terrified that she phoned her job to quit and left to Michigan, her husband told NBC News.

The 60-year-old's co-workers "want her head on a platter," her husband said.

Her husband said that he himself has packed his bags, and is set to leave if his wife's name is made public. The court records of all jurors' names are kept sealed as of now.

She is living in fear that her fellow employees will be outraged with the juror's not guilty verdict.

Her husband said he has packed his own bags and is prepared to flee if his wife's name is made public. The court record of all remained sealed for now.

Her husband said that before leaving she told him: "I'd rather go to jail than sit on a jury like this again," said an irishcentral report.

Casey Anthony was acquitted of the murder of her two-year-old daughter Casey. They found her guilty only of lying to police.

Link

Casey Anthony Juror No. 3 Brings Hate Upon All Jennifer Fords
By Eryn Sun

When Jennifer Ford revealed to the public that she was juror no. 3 in the Casey Anthony trial, she never knew just how many people, particularly with the same name, she’d be affecting.

A woman by the same name in Jacksonville, Fla., is receiving the full brunt of the public’s outrage just because her name happens to also be Jennifer Ford, according to Channel 4.

Though they do not resemble each other in appearance being of a different race altogether, the woman also coincidentally is the same age, 32, as the nursing student who helped acquit Casey on charges of first-degree murder, manslaughter, and aggravated child abuse.

Many have been criticizing Ford from Jacksonville of reaching a not guilty verdict, although she had nothing to do with the case.

Angry voicemails and Facebook posts were left on the wrong Ford’s phone and wall, leaving her distraught and angry herself.

“I don’t have anything to do with what the other jurors decided to vote on,” she told Channel 4.



“I just want to be left alone and hopefully, get this resolved.”

In a homicide case that has garnered enormous attention from the public, it appears that not many are left untouched.

And it seems as if everyone has an opinion in regards to the verdict, with majority of the media and the public in opposition to the decision made by the jury.

Though jurors like the real Jennifer Ford stated that she and her fellow jurors could not prove murder of Caylee Anthony beyond a reasonable doubt, many are saying there was more than enough evidence laid out by the prosecution for a conviction.

The single decomposing hair strand found in the trunk of Casey’s car, smell of human decomposition, and duct tape and chloroform discovered with the 2-year-old’s remains were among the evidence presented by the state.

Ford from Jacksonville told Channel 4 that she would have convicted Casey of murder if she were a real juror in the case, if it made any difference.

With the media and the overwhelming public in disagreement of the not guilty verdict, many are taking it into their own hands to seek justice for the deceased toddler, even if it’s costing some people, including the wrong Ford, their lives – involved or not.

Former Casey Anthony Lawyer Says She Was Attacked Twice During the Case

A Chicago lawyer says her defense of death-penalty defendants has brought hate mail, but she was physically attacked because of her work in just one case—the Casey Anthony trial.

DePaul University law professor Andrea Lyon resigned from the Anthony case about a year ago, saying she couldn’t continue because the judge had rejected a request to reimburse her travel expenses. In an interview today with WBEZ, Lyon said she was attacked twice in Orlando while working on the case.

One attack occurred while she was trying to interview a witness, Lyon said. The other occurred while she was walking down the street.

Lyon said the intense media scbecause the media would publicize the witness list, leading to harassment.rutiny made her work difficult. Witnesses were reluctant to speak to the defense, she said, Now Lyon is worried about her onetime client, Casey Anthony. “I don’t know where in this country she can live safely,” she said. “There are people who want her dead, and I fear for her safety.”

Lyon declined to elaborate on details of the assaults when contacted by the ABA Journal.

Link

And for good measure...and this is just one example of the egregious misrepresentation of the evidence in this case by the media, and by the State:

J. CHENEY MASON, ANTHONY DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There was no duct tape on the remains, except for part of the hair mat on the lower right side. The other duct tape, piece number three, was found about eight or nine feet away. There was never any evidence of duct tape being actually placed across that child's mouth or nose. That was a figment of Mr. Ashton's imagination.

But the big issue was there was a total failure to find any forensic evidence whatsoever on the tape. And more importantly, if you remember the only partial profile of DNA that was detected absolutely excluded Casey, and also excluded Caylee from having contact with that tape. So that is a mystery in itself. It has not and never will be solved, I suppose.

I've seen the public outcry about the verdict, and it is pretty saddening to know we have so few educated citizens in our country that doesn't respect the constitution. You and I have seen that before, however.

And I'm devastated by people who have attacked the jurors. Shame on them. Perhaps there's a place in Iran for them to enjoy their favors. The bottom line is the jurors have been threatened. Lawyers have been threatened. Our teams have been threatened. It is very discouraging to say this is 2011 and we have so much of our citizenry that really don't deserve to be, frankly.

Link

[The Consul]

Perfect release valve psychology. I was in a Subway getting a sandwich the day of the verdict and the kid making it said, "hey, you hear bout how they're letting that Casey Anthony go? Can you believe that? That just aint right." I looked at his name tag...Lee...Lee, I said, you need to reserve your outrage for why it is that this might be the best job you can find. They are just using her to distract you.
"Distract me from what?" Lee askedd
The people who are out to screw you, I answered.
He thought that was funny. "I guess you're right. But what can a person do, start a revolution?"

Yeah, Lee, I answered. Start a revolution. Fantasize on that instead of buying a lotto ticket this week.

[sunny]

@The Consul--Sure, this case has been distracting but it's also important to pay attention to how people are prosecuted in this country. It's a matter of individual civil rights, and in Casey Anthony's case hers were violated repeatedly.

NYT reports more shenanigans with the evidence:

Software Designer Reports Error in Anthony Trial

MIAMI — Assertions by the prosecution that Casey Anthony conducted extensive computer searches on the word “chloroform” were based on inaccurate data, a software designer who testified at the trial said Monday.

The designer, John Bradley, said Ms. Anthony had visited what the prosecution said was a crucial Web site only once, not 84 times, as prosecutors had asserted. He came to that conclusion after redesigning his software, and immediately alerted prosecutors and the police about the mistake, he said.

The finding of 84 visits was used repeatedly during the trial to suggest that Ms. Anthony had planned to murder her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, who was found dead in 2008. Ms. Anthony, who could have faced the death penalty, was acquitted of the killing on July 5.

According to Mr. Bradley, chief software developer of CacheBack, used by the police to verify the computer searches, the term “chloroform” was searched once through Google. The Google search then led to a Web site, sci-spot.com, that was visited only once, Mr. Bradley added. The Web site offered information on the use of chloroform in the 1800s.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office had used the software to validate its finding that Ms. Anthony had searched for information about chloroform 84 times, a conclusion that Mr. Bradley says turned out to be wrong. Mr. Bradley said he immediately alerted a prosecutor, Linda Drane Burdick, and Sgt. Kevin Stenger of the Sheriff’s Office in late June through e-mail and by telephone to tell them of his new findings. Mr. Bradley said he conducted a second analysis after discovering discrepancies that were never brought to his attention by prosecutors or the police.

Mr. Bradley’s findings were not presented to the jury and the record was never corrected, he said. Prosecutors are required to reveal all information that is exculpatory to the defense.

“I gave the police everything they needed to present a new report,” Mr. Bradley said. “I did the work myself and copied out the entire database in a spreadsheet to make sure there was no issue of accessibility to the data.”

Mr. Bradley, chief executive of Siquest, a Canadian company, said he even volunteered to fly to Orlando at his own expense to show them the findings.

Cheney Mason, one of Ms. Anthony’s defense lawyers, said it was “outrageous” that prosecutors withheld critical information on the “chloroform” searches.

“The prosecution is absolutely obligated to bring forth to the court any and all evidence that could be exculpatory,” Mr. Mason said. “If in fact this is true, and the prosecution concealed this new information, it is more than shame on them. It is outrageous.”

“This was a major part of their case,” Mr. Mason added.

More @ Link



Exculpatory Evidence Suppressed by Law Enforcement During Casey Anthony Murder Trial
Jul 18th, 2011
by Richard Hornsby.

It appears the Orange County Sheriff’s Office intentionally suppressed exculpatory evidence that directly contradicted the State Attorney’s theory of premeditated murder in their attempt to have Casey convicted of First Degree Murder.
Law Enforcement’s Duty to Disclose Favorable Evidence
In Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), the United States Supreme Court held that suppression of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process.
This Ain’t the State’s First Rodeo Either

And let’s not forget, this is not the first case ASA Jeff Ashton was involved in where exculpatory evidence was suppressed. some of you may remember my post in Casey Anthony: Insufficient Funds (Part Uno), where I explained about a trial conducted by the Elected Public Defender Robert Wesley:
Mr. Wesley realized not long after the guilt phase of the trial that the dastardly prosecutor Jeff Ashton “suppressed favorable evidence.” See State v. Huggins, 788 So. 2d 238 (Fla. 2001). And because of this dastardly act, the Chief Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, Belvin Perry, granted Mr. Huggins request for a new trial.
An Ironic Twist

The irony of all ironies is that it may be Casey Anthony who has the best law suit to bring after her acquittal.

A law suit against the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office for violating her civil rights by suppressing favorable evidence so they could rely on flawed evidence to try and convict her of First Degree Murder. Link