Analysis Of Casey Anthony's Trial

Following the inconclusiveness of Caylee’s autopsy, more complications arose as both the prosecution and the defense prepared for Casey Anthony’s trial. Without conclusive type of death, it was now harder to present a clear case of what happened to Caylee. The two conclusions that forensics had made on this case as possibilities for how Caylee died included accidental drowning, and homicide. The defense team argued that Caylee had drowned in her grandparents’ pool while Casey and her father, George, were home. The prosecution argued, however, that Caylee Anthony died by administration chloroform then placing duct tape over Caylee’s mouth, making it a homicide. (CNN Library, 2014). Specifically, in their opening statements during trial, the

Between the large amounts of evidence that the jurors had to keep track of, and countless testimonies from both lay and expert witnesses they had to listen to, the trial of Casey Anthony was proving to be difficult. Issues began early on with the testimony given by Casey’s mother and Caylee’s grandmother, Cindy Anthony. When questioned about her original phone call to the police, Cindy retracted her statement about the car smelling like a dead body, saying that she was only using “a figure of speech.” (Hayes, 2011). Furthermore, another piece of evidence presented was searches done on a computer in the Anthony household, which included searches on chloroform, alcohol, and neck breaking. When asked about the searches, Cindy testified that she had searched for all three items for various different reasons (Hayes, 2011). However, when cross-examined, the prosecution pointed out that Cindy was working on the days that those searches were

Following ten hours of deliberation, the jury came to a verdict that ultimately shocked the nation that followed this case so closely: not guilty on all felony charges (Burke, 2011). Though the jury found Casey guilty on all misdemeanor charges, four counts of giving false information to a police officer, it was the not guilty verdict of first degree murder, manslaughter, and aggravated child abuse that shocked those following the case. Juror three in the trial stated days following the verdict that she, like many of the other jurors, that, “I did not say she was innocent. I just said there was not enough evidence. If you cannot prove what the crime was, you cannot determine what the punishment should be” (Burke, 2011). Unlike the belief that many in the nation had that the jury believed Casey Anthony was completely innocent, the jurors in the trial came forward to state that it was not that they found Casey to be completely innocent; it is that the believed that the argument that the prosecution presented was too specific to be proven based on the circumstantial evidence that they