Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Trials, Verdicts, and Casey Anthony

The biggest trial and verdict since the OJ Simpson trial.

A failure? Yes and no.

Strangely, our system of innocent until proven guilty continues to work. In a trial such as this the standard that the evidence must be presented to gain a conviction is to "beyond. Reasonable doubt."

This is important. The job of the prosecutor, representing the people, is to ensure the evidence meets this standard.

Clearly, in the minds of the jurors the prosecutor failed. Therefore, despite however we all may feel the system worked and Casey Anthony was found not guilty.

We should all be happy that our system still works despite the media coverage which had already tried, convicted, and essentially executed Casey Anthony.

I felt, although only based upon what I had seen and heard in the media, that the prosecution failed to prove that Caylee had been murdered by her mother. Accidental draining in a pool is significantly different than premeditated murder. And even if I accept the prosecution's argument that it was a murder, then I felt the evidence regarding who and how was circumstantial at best.

So the system worked.

AND it failed.

It failed little Caylee who is dead and for whom no murderer or killer has been convicted. The system failed to protect little Caylee before she died and failed to uncover the truth about her death.

The failure is on the part of the State and the prosecutor. If Casey murdered Caylee, then the State needed to prove it. If Casey is truly getting away with murder, the system failed. That Caylee is dead and the who and the how are unknown is also a failure.

Despite how I personally feel, recognizing that my view of the case is shaped by the media coverage, given the evidence that was presented, justice was served. I would not want an Amanda Knox-like circus for a justice system.

There is a higher court that Caylee's murderer will be answering to, and I leave it to that court, which already knows all of the facts, to dispense justice and mercy.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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