I have been subject to the national outrage since the Casey Anthony verdict. The "not guilty" verdict of this three-year media spectacle has shocked the national conscience. Nancy Grace was apoplectic. Most Americans point the finger at those 12 horrible people, those who practically abetted the murder of a poor little girl...I'll paraphrase for America...
...those fucking jurors.
And there's where I part company with America, including members of my family. I think America needs to go back to middle school for some more civics lessons. I believe these jurors did exactly what they were supposed to do. They heard the evidence, they followed the judges instructions and delivered a verdict. That it was not the verdict that America wanted is beside the point. For the most part, the American media wants to convict everyone who "fits the description."
To recap, in case you've been living in a box, Casey Anthony was on trial for the murder of her toddler-aged daughter. She was painted in the media as a wanton slut who partied all the time and neglected her child. She was also said to be an unstable, that is - mentally ill - person, generally unfit for parenthood. The theory was that the child was disrupting her party-girl lifestyle, so she killed her daughter to free up her social calendar. As media consumers, we get this picture of Casey Anthony, and it looks bad. It may be accurate, but it looks terrible. She "fit the description."
So here's problem number one with the "jury sucks" mantra - they don't get to consider any of the party-girl behavior. Unless the prosecutor can tie her unparenting directly to the criminal event, it is considered prejudicial. The jury most likely didn't consider her parental behavior prior to the crime. They would be instructed by the judge to ignore any media reports they heard. They could only consider what the prosecutor brought to bear on the case.
Maybe the prosecutor did a great job, you say, and the jury was prejudiced.
That's problem number two. Who is prejudiced against a little white girl? The verdict was unanimous, not hung by one juror who thought Casey Anthony was cute. Juries in the past have been prejudicial, especially in the South. Just think back (again, to middle school) when you had to read To Kill A Mockingbird. White juries have wrongfully convicted black people in the past, based on racism. Activist juries have acquitted people despite judges' instructions, even in recent memory. For instance, there have been cases where marijuana dispensaries have been raided, the owners busted, and the laws and evidence clear; yet the juries who disagree with the law have delivered a "not guilty" verdict. But I really don't think that there were twelve activists in favor of child murder, and therefor defied judicial instructions to follow laws pertaining to child murder.
Alright, you say, it was just a goddam weird case, with shaky evidence, but that bitch killed her kid and the jury should have seen through that, and been activist on the side of justice.
That is tempting, but I've got two words: Jonbenet Ramsey. Jonbenet Ramsey was the six year old beauty pageant "star" who was murdered in brutal fashion in 1996. Careers were made and ruined over this case. This case was easily as media saturated as the Anthony case. The dad killed her, to cover up sexual abuse. The mom killed her, or helped cover it up, because she wanted to protect her lifestyle. The son killed his sister because he was crazy. All of these charges flew through the cable-sphere and tabloid pages like an Arizona wildfire. EVERYONE was sure that those sick, perverted Ramseys killed their daughter. But the DA's office never indicted. They never had the evidence "beyond a reasonable doubt." Still, those Ramseys fit the description.
By the way, the Ramseys always contended that an intruder did it. Please...how lame is that?
In the early 2000s, Patsy Ramsey, the mom, died of cancer knowing she was one of the most hated people in America, and that anyone she ever knew in her whole life at least suspected she was a monster. Would, or should a jury have convicted her?
In 2008, the Boulder CO district attorney's office announced that new DNA evidence showed that an unknown person, not the parents or brother, was the last person to handle Jonbenet Ramsey. The DA wrote in a letter to the Ramseys that there was no way that the DNA could have "innocently" been in the three different places of the murdered girl's clothes. The strongest evidence now is that an intruder kidnapped, beat, sexually assaulted and strangled Jonbenet Ramsey to death. New technology has proven that though were weird, pageant-fixated parents, the Ramseys probably loved their kid and were crushed when she was murdered by an intruder. They endured years of torment as the media convicted them of the most horrible crime over and over again. Detectives and District Attorneys resigned and were fired because they could not convict the Ramseys.
But in the Jonbenet Ramsey case, the system worked. The DA did not prosecute because the evidence was not courtroom worthy. And, although the parents were not spared the public conviction by the media, they had their freedom preserved because we value individual liberty. We have a strong standard that few other nations in the world enjoy: innocent until proven guilty. This puts a heavy burden on the state to make sure they have done their job, and done it correctly. And this is the case too, with Casey Anthony.
She may be a crazy bitch who killed her own kid so that she could continue the frat-house party lifestyle. But that is not the fault of this jury. It may be that the prosecutor fucked up. It may be that the police bungled evidence or procedure. It may be that the judge's instructions were so restrictive that barring a videotape of the murder and a signed confession, the jury was not allowed to convict. But twelve unanimous citizens were not prejudiced, or stupid, or activist in this case. They erred on the side of freedom, which is how our system is designed.
There are many recently released death row inmates in Illinois (and other states) that would agree. New DNA technology is proving that it was impossible for them to have committed the crimes that they were awaiting execution for. Illinois recently did away with the death penalty after having to release over a dozen prisoners who were awaiting death. I bet they wish they had had a jury as thorough and forthright as the one who acquitted Casey Anthony. They were innocent men who fit the description and almost were killed by the state. How many have been killed because they fit the description.
Did Casey Anthony get away with murder? Maybe. If so, I'm not happy about that. I share the outrage that a small child could be killed, duct-taped and buried with no consequence. But don't blame the jury - the citizens who give up part of their lives to serve the cause of justice. If anyone is to blame, blame the professionals in the justice system who dropped the ball.
And if you blame the system, find me a better one, and we'll talk.
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