The Caylee Anthony Murder Trial, Case Study Example

The Caylee Marie Anthony murder trial was one of the hugest trials of the past decade. “On July 15, 2008, Cindy Anthony called 9-1-1 in Orlando to report that her daughter, Casey Anthony, had stolen a car and some money. She called back later to report that her granddaughter, Casey’s daughter, 2-year-old Caylee Marie Anthony was missing and had been missing for more than a month” (Montaldo, 2011). The country erupted and all fingers began to point as Casey, raising the larger question at hand, where on earth was Caylee Marie?

Casey Anthony was tried with her daughter’s murder after the body was uncovered in a duffle bag in a local park. The trial lasted around three years, where the prosecution and the defense fought tooth and nail to either prove Casey’s innocence, or convince the jury that she was indeed guilty beyond any reasonable doubt. Despite heavy evidence against her, including pictures of her partying right after Caylee went missing, Casey Anthony’s own parents being convinced of her guilt, as well as Casey’s poor parenting prior to Caylee’s disappearance, Casey was adamant that she was innocent, and did not know what happened to her daughter.

During the lengthy trial, Anthony was caught lying to prosecutors, and sentenced to a year and jail and $1,000 in fines. Unfortunately, on the conviction of murder, the jury found Casey Anthony as innocent due to lack of evidence. In 2008, Caylee Marie’s body was found in a duffle bag with evidence that she was put to sleep using chloroform. In 2011, a Florida court found Casey Anthony innocent of murder. The country was furious. They all saw Casey Anthony as a murderer, and were in disbelief when the results of the trial were released. In the public’s eyes, the proof was unquestionable, but in the eyes of the jury, Casey Anthony just could not be proven guilty without any question of a doubt.

References:

Montaldo, Charles. “The Caylee Marie Anthony Case.” About.com Crime / Punishment. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2013. http://crime.about.com/od/missing/a/caylee.htm

Staff, The CNN Wire. “Jury’s Judgment near in Dramatic Murder Trial of Casey Anthony.” CNN. Cable News Network, 02 July 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2013. http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/07/02/florida.casey.anthony.trial/index.html