The Casey Anthony verdict

I’m not a lawyer (if you want to read a lawyer’s reaction to the case, see Doug Masson’s blog), but I have watched a lot of “Law and Order”. I haven’t paid much attention to the case, but I was made quite aware of the verdict by the rest of the world. Seemingly, everyone in the country except the 12 who mattered thought she was guilty. I’m not convinced that Casey Anthony killed or was involved in the death of her daughter. Why not? Because I’ve seen almost no facts regarding the case, I’ve just picked up a few bits and pieces from commentary elsewhere. While I know there are some who have watched the coverage of this trial closely, I suspect most people have received their information the same way I have: filtered through one or more layers of reporting.

I understand that people think Casey Anthony is guilty. I expect that most people are convinced that O.J. Simpson is guilty of murder, too. There’s a case from the homeland where the accused has been twice-convicted of a triple murder but has had the verdict overturned on appeal. And you know what? I think that’s a good thing. It should be very difficult to convict someone of murder. The penalty for murder is justifiably harsh, but it is a greater travesty of justice when someone is wrongly convicted.

The other noteworthy point about this case is the question of: why is it news? Is it news because Nancy Grace has shoved her face into it? (On a related note, have you seen the episode of “Leverage” where they take down an obvious Nancy-Grace-alike? It’s good times.) As tragic as it is, I don’t see a reason for this to be national news. The sad truth is that many children are abused and sometimes killed across the country. I’ve never understood why some become national news and others barely get covered at all.

But that’s 322 words about a case that I’m not familiar with from a person who isn’t a legal expert in any sense. So we’ll call this the end.

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