Casey Anthony. Innocent?

Very good morning friends and faithful blog readers. I hope y'all enjoyed your holiday weekend. I know this year's 3 day Independence Day celebration was amongst the best I've ever enjoyed. How can you go wrong with a weekend full of swimming pools, fireworks, lots of junk food and being surrounded with many good friends? I don't see how it gets any better than that and if it did I'd need two of me to process all that fun. I wish I could bottle up that merriment and save it for a rainy day, but alas, I can not.

Unfortunately today's blog doesn't contain any merriment or joy. There is a good possibility that many of you reading it will disagree with me, some of you very passionately. I'm fine with that. I believe that as an amateur writer and recreational blogger I simply can't avoid writing about topics that others may disagree with. Many of you (did you catch the title of the dang blog?) have already surmised that I'll be tackling the Casey Anthony trial. You're right. It's not going to necessarily be fun nor will it be popular, but I believe someone has to do it.

Let's get some disclaimers out of the way now. I must admit I'm not a forensics expert, but I have read a lot of mystery novels. I was not at any point during the whole mess that is the Casey Anthony investigation and trial an avid follower of such mess. Frankly I'm quite disgusted and nearly physically ill that the media is so sensational in their coverage of said mess. There is not one fiber of my being that believes that any of the media coverage has been fair, balanced and unbiased. The fact that so many people would expend so much energy to follow this trial, to fight to get a seat in the court room or in any way be a part of the "tourism" surrounding this trial sickens me. I do readily admit to stepping off to an alternative drum cadence than most citizens and on days like today I'm actually grateful that I do. I truly don't "get" what all the sustained media attention is all about. It's possible that I may be too busy actually living a life to get so completely caught up in the hoopla. Anyway let's get on with the task of deciphering the madness.

The fact of the matter is that the jury in the Casey Anthony trial got the verdict right. I know this is not the main stream opinion but since when have I ever allowed that to influence my beliefs? The prosecutors in this trial presented a lot of circumstantial evidence and almost no physical evidence. Prosecuting teams always bear the "burden of proof." In laymen terms that means they have the job of convincing the jury that beyond any reasonable doubt the accused committed the crime. Cut through all of your emotions for a moment and honestly tell me that you believe they presented enough facts to convince you 100 percent without even a hint of a doubt that Casey Anthony murdered her daughter. I simply can't make that statement.

The prosecution team presented new "pseudo-scientific" evidence that a decomposing body was once in Ms. Anthony's trunk. Yes my friends they put some air from her trunk in a syringe and tested it. Did you catch the part about there being a bag of trash in her trunk when they found her car? The prosecution team claimed that the duct tape and bags found with Caylee Anthony's body were similar to ones found in Casey's home. There's your evidence. They also talked a lot about Casey Anthony partying, getting a tattoo and basically doing everything she could to be uncooperative with the investigation. What the prosecution didn't do was find any fingerprints at the crime scene. They didn't find any blood in the trunk of the car. They didn't find any hair or DNA samples of Casey's at the place the body was found. As a matter of fact the prosecution team couldn't even truthfully determine exactly how little Caylee Anthony died.

That paragraph was a little difficult to write. Whew...this writer will not shrink from this task. Let's get a few more things out of the way here. I'm a proud father of 3 beautiful children. The fact that a nearly 3 year old girl was murdered is something that I can't truly wrap my mind around. Casey Anthony "failed" to report her daughter missing for 31 days! She spent those 31 days partying and getting a tattoo! She constantly lied about everything she could possible lie about while she was being investigated. She is a hideous monster of a parent who was criminally negligent in caring for her child. Let's get this last tidbit out of the way now. I believe that Casey Anthony murdered her daughter.

How can one writer defend the jury's not guilty verdict and then confess he believes the defendant committed the crime you ask oh gentle reader? Easy, nobody really cares about what I believe and the world doesn't adhere to my belief system (thank God.) For example, I believe rap music is a waste of ear space, that Pete Rose belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame, that Merle Haggard is the most artistic singer/songwriter to ever grace planet Earth and that people should almost revere baseball stadiums as much as they do churches. Most of my crazy ideas and beliefs are very much in the minority. I'm OK with that. My belief, and frankly many of yours as well, that Casey Anthony killed her daughter doesn't prove that she did.

Folks we live in the United States of America, the greatest damn Nation in the world. Our legal system is flawed for sure. Loopholes, human error and the luxury of hiring the best legal teams tarnish many trials. However we are also still a Nation that guarantees the inalienable right of the accused of being "innocent until proven guilty." Casey Anthony was found not guilty by a jury of her peers. Those 12 men and women obviously found some shred of doubt that Casey was guilty and brought forth the verdict of not guilty. Thankfully they chose not to participate in the media circus after issuing the verdict. Casey Anthony will walk away a free woman whether we like it or not. For better or worse, this is our legal system. Be mindful of the fact that this same legal system has put to death many innocent people. This same legal system acquitted O.J. Simpson of murder and then found him guilty of that same murder in a civil trial. Casey Anthony is beyond any reasonable doubt a complete failure as a human being. She is nothing short of a train wreck waiting to happen. This doesn't prove that she murdered anyone.

Write this down. Casey Anthony will ultimately destroy any life that she has left attempting to get past the hell she has caused herself. The fact that she behaved in the manner that she did after her daughter "disappeared" causes me to hope she never finds another single solitary moment of peace or serenity in her life again.

Little Caylee Anthony is currently residing in a much more pleasant environment than the screwed up Anthony family could have ever provided her. Those that sent her to that place of peace will some day experience hell in one form or another. Karma insists that this is true.

Try to have a good day friends. I'm going to try not to mope around the next several hours pondering the sickness and evil that lurks in our world. God help us all.