Exclusive: How Casey Anthony Got Her Bella Vita Back!
By Art Harris, The Bald Truth, (c) artharris.com, all rights reserved
It took O. J. Simpson’s Los Angeles jury four hours to reach a verdict in the 1995 double murder case against the football star-turned actor—Not Guilty.
It took the Casey Anthony jury twice as long –10 hours – to find her NOT guilty of murder one…and all counts related to killing her two year old daughter, another celebrity trial where a speedy verdict spelled acquital for murder.
In both cases, a jury backed who they saw as the underdog. In Simpson’s case, lawyer Johnny Cochran’s played on the strained feelings between the African American community and the LAPD, OJ as underdog…In Casey Anthony’s case, Jose Baez portrayed her as a molestation victim, proved her parents liars and pokeD holes in prosecution experts to create reasonable doubt…A defendant ganged up on in a country that embraces underdogs and redeemed sinners.
Anthony was found guilty on the lesser charge of lying to a law enforcement officer, and could be released as early as Thursday and given credit for time served, her lawyer, Cheney Mason said, for a charge that carries a likely prison term shorter than time she’s already spent in the Orange County Florida jail.
“Her lies worked,” said one TV pundit, as shockwaves spread from the courtroom to the Orlando streets. Crowds waving anti-Casey signs and demanding “Justice for Caylee” were transformed into a sort of Zombie-shuffle, a scene earily reminiscent of the quiet shock, then public outcry in white America after Simpson acquital split the nation along racial lines.
As Anthony was pronounced not guilty of murder, she wept quietly, dabbing ears of shock and joy from her eyes, her dark hair pulled back, dressed in a white blouse and skirt.
Flanked by her lawyers, she stood to hear the verdict, and seemed shocked as it was read, every count related to harming her child, “Not Guilty,” as it all began so sink in–she was going to be set free. And she wiped away tear after tear, finally smiling as she was lead out and back to her holding cell, and a level of celebrity she perhaps never fathomed, but may soon embrace as a dream destiny spelled out in her tattoo– Bella Vita.
For over a month, she’d heard a powerful team of prosecutors unload broadside after broadside of sins, calling her a cold blooded killer, and building a case for Murder One, as talk shows detailed what many believed would be a slam dunk conviction for first degree murder..
But like Simpson, Robert Blake and Michael Jackson, Casey Anthony also became a celebrity, vilified to fame ironically by the very media now blasting the verdict as unjust…If there are lessons to emerge, perhaps one is that a jury in a death penalty case thinks especially hard about how solid the evidence is against an accused whose life they hold in their hands, and that they will demand a comfort zone and higher level of proof than prosecutors provided against Anthony. And give the accused the benefit of reasonable doubt every time to avoid a mistake and blood on their hands. Especially if the accused happens to be a celebrity like Casey had become.
With a widely hated client, Jose Baez argued, that, in essence, when it comes to love and justice, wishing doesn’t make it so, or, as he put it more crudely in court, proving she’s a “slut” and a liar doesn’t prove Casey Anthony is a killer.
As a student of trials like the Simpson case I covered for CNN, Baez learned well: that a spaghetti defense can work in the kitchen and in court, if it’s not too al dente, or overcooked. Indeed, if it provides a scenario, no matter how far fetched, and can stick to the wall when thrown, it will offer jurors something to hang their hats on, and an accused client a possible way out. He never did have to prove Caylee drowned in the family swimming pool, or that father George Anthony molested Casey and that turned her into a lying sociopath and a party girl. All he had to do was confuse, challenge the prosecutors message, and raise doubts…
The verdict also raises another key point –that jurors will be looking for omay be aspect jurors may be psect has eallthat gives juror a reason to believe someone didn’t do it, they will hang their hats on reasonable doubt every time, to avoid making a mistake—and blood on their hands.
As Judge Belvin Perry was thanking, then dismissing Pinellas County jurors, Anthony embraced Jose Baez and her defense team…holding their hands, then hugging others in the courtroom. Her parents quickly left.
Prosecutor Jeff Ashton and Linda Burdick looked shell-shocked and crushed, as the judge advised jurors they had no obligation to speak to the press.
For the last “trial of the century,” which I covered for CNN, I was outside the courtroom, discussing the acquital live with then CNN’s Greta Van Susteren, now a FOX network superstar, and Vanity Fair correspondent and late author-legend Dominick Dunne who became a crime victim crusader after his daughter’s murder.
Suddenly, I looked over and he was ripping off his microphone after disputing the verdict, and walking off the set, sad eyes flashing anger after Greta called him an “anarchist” for not accepting the will of the largely African American jury that cited reasonable doubt.
Many experts called it a verdict widely seen as jury nullification by members of LA’s black community and their antipathy for the LAPD.
Indeed, Simpson lawyers had settled on the ideal juror as a mother with sons who had experienced negative run ins with the LAPD, or who knew other young men with complaints. Anyone with high school math or science under their belt was also ruled out, Simpson lawyers told me.
The Simpson jury heard forensic evidence, saw so called bloody gloves that Simpson dramatics showed didn’t fit, DNA that matched Simpson’s blood at the crime scene, jealousy as a motive, then a verdict that some felt ignored it all as jurors embraced the defense theories of reasonable doubt, arguing police corruption, evidence contamination and more.
Casey Anthony wiped tears away as she stood between her lawyers, as Jose Baez quietly smiled and made plans to ask that she be released from jail on the lesser charges.
Later, he told reporters he was “happy for Casey,” and a judicial system that worked, but had mixed feelings about a trial that had destroyed a family and left a little girl’s death a mystery of sorts, or at least emotionally unresolved and unsatisfying for so many.
He said he hoped Casey would get to rebuild her life, and that the verdict was also justice for Caylee.
Cheney Mason, his bearded co counsel, blasted the press for “media assasination,” and pundit lawyers who ‘didn’t know what the hell they were talking about” as they ganged up on the accused and should now be choking on double helpings of crow.
There was equal shock and awe after O.J. stood to hear his verdict, an acquital, too; he could barely contain his glee, fighting back a smirk, then a smile…He embraced lawyer Johnny Cochran; but the surprise verdict showed especially on the face of Simpson co counsel Robert Kardashian (Kim Kardashian’s father) who later said in an interview he had doubts about his own client’s innocence…and a verdict that split the country along racial lines as Simpson reached out to a jury made up of working class African Americans he’d left behind long ago to save him, and declared he was still “looking for the killer.”
Tuesday, the current trial of the century came to a stunning close, but it cannot compare to the original for its mountain of scientific and circumstantial evidence marshaled by prosecutors, big name celebrity lawyers and experts, and witnesses that was far weightier than what prosecutors presented against Casey Anthony…
As one juror showed up in a suit for the first time Tuesday morning, perhaps signaling the game was about to end, talk shows seemed to anticipate a guilty verdict and geared up to celebrate even bigger ratings.
Who could have dreamed it would be Casey Anthony who would be the one celebrating her fate, perhaps getting ready to party once again—and toast pending million dollar book offers, movies, interviews and new found stardom she must feel is her rightful destiny.
July 5th, 2011 at 7:10 pm
All i can say is it is a sad day for Justice in America. Someone in that house threw out Caylee like she were trash. I know it wasn't Cindy or George. I think it's horrible that a Defense attorney can make up a story to open suggestions to the jury and the jurors buy it. It is questionable whether the Anthony's purposely lied in order to appear dysfunctional, i don't doubt it after watching this trial. I think the Anthony's may have wanted to ensure no DP but never expected her to be free in a week. I can't imagine them wanting her in their home but maybe they really do live in a rabbit hole where they can put all this behind them as if it never happened.
July 5th, 2011 at 9:41 pm
Yes, she has her Bella Vita back…Kinda makes me think "crime does pay"..To go from an unemployed party girl to a millionaire ie: book deals, movie, and public appearances, she will be a famous nobody.. Caylee was forgotten in the trial, and she is not remembered today.. Thanks to NG for putting Caylee in the forefront..This trial was about winning at all costs for the defense..To see the red haired defense attny jumping up and down at the bar after the trial told me she was in it for the winning verdict. The whole team turned my stomach…I'm curious to know why the prosecutor, Jeff Ashton is retiring..I hope it was planned in advance of this trial, and not because of defeat..He is an excellent prosecutor. I don't think the Prosecution lost. I think the Jury bought the abuse, and bad parenting of the Anthony's, and felt sorry for Casey..The defense didn't win..IMO. .A word for Baez…If you and Casey hook up soon, don't let Casey babysit your daughter, and don't have chloroform ingredients around your house…..Maybe when she is released she will take notes from OJ on how to find the real killer. lol.
July 6th, 2011 at 12:56 am
it's not so certain Casey will be a millionaire celebrity. OJ wrote a book and no one bought it,
she may find out she may have been better off getting sentenced to time in prison as compared to being released so early to a very angry public.
July 6th, 2011 at 4:42 am
I am more afraid of the hatred our country is expressing than I am the Anthonys. The verdict is in. We live in America, get over it. I am suprised at how so many dysfunctional people we have on here. Forgiveness for you and bad Karma for the Anthonys? Hmmmmmmmm That verdict is what you get when you dont have all the media pumping people up and getting them angry. It brings every dysfunctional person in America out.
July 6th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Hey Art,
Am just sick about Casey Anthony verdict. I don't believe inh the death penelty, but certainly thought she would some guilty to the death of Caylee. Perhaps they charged her too high, instead, instead of lower set of charges. The Anthonys are not a regular family type, which came out in a big way. The entire family was put on trial, IMO. Would all of us, our family life open as a book, not have a few things we would want to keep secret
I have been thinking, and the idea of Caylee becoming so verbal, makes a lot of sense to me.Such a miscarriage of justice
Take Care, Stay Cool, and catch me on the flipper!
Luv ya
SpikedLemon
July 6th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
I can't believe not even 1 juror ,thought she was guilty of at least child neglect/endangerment.But i guess that wasn't a charge on her?I don't feel justice was done.
July 6th, 2011 at 2:45 pm
I agree that karma will come right back at her. While I do not believe her intent was to murder her child, her choice to anesthestize her so she could go out, was child neglect/abuse as far as i am concerned. The prosecution did not prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, period….and Jose's job was to present reasonable doubt, and….he did. My firm belief is that the prosecution brought her up on the wrong charges….They should have thought about the case more closely and exactly what their burden would be to prove 1st degree murder. Other charges might have stuck.
July 6th, 2011 at 2:57 pm
I also believe that Casey may be able to get book deals, interviews, or movies, but don't believe she will ride that wave for too long. Sometimes being free after such an acquittal can be more of a punishment. I believe Casey loved Caylee. I believe Casey was also victim to a crazy mother (seriously! she is a little wacked, and domineering) and a horribly dysfunctional family. I think Cindy and Casey fought – Cindy threatened her in some way – and Casey packed her stuff and Caylee and left – I think Casey wantedto have a life with her daughter outside the anthony home. She is young, and immature and still wants that party life. She tried to put caylee to sleep, and overdosed her instead – casey panicked, hence driving around with her for a few days in the trunk and then had to get rid of her – I think she totally had to disassociate herself from this in order not to go nuts. Do I think Casey shouldve gotten off? No, involuntary manslaughter or wreckless endangerment of a minor resulting in death might have gone over better with a jury. I can only hope that this family gets the psychological treatment each and everyone of them obviously need. this family is broken. And it didn't start with Casey.
July 6th, 2011 at 3:35 pm
I have to say, i am very tired of reading comments from people who say things like "it's over, get over it". I don't appreciate ( especially at my age) someone else telling me what i can or cannot say. This was a 3 year event, the trial was a month long, i think it is understandable that people want to vent their feelings on what they saw happen. To have someone take the time to type in "it's over, get over it" makes me think they are not over it or they would have moved on theirself, not going to websites they already know people will be discussing the outcome.
July 6th, 2011 at 6:48 pm
Amen, Happy… I know what you are referring to…Didn't one even go so far as to call us dysfunctional? lol It takes one to know one, (na na na nana) or maybe she finds Art so irresistible she can't stay away. . = )
July 7th, 2011 at 10:34 pm
If I insulted you, I apologize. It was not my intent. My intent was to say I do not want to see a lynch mob. It is scary that there is so many disfunctional people out there that want to kill Cindy and George. George is questionable in my book and I believe Casey was guilty of "something" and should have been found "guilty". But she was not and we cant change it. I am afraid another murder, more people going to jail and more hurt is all that can come from staying angry. Again maybe my words were not said right. I apologize.
July 6th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
I am so glad Cheney Mason is retiring, i hope to never see his face again on tv. He originally said Casey was guilty until he decided to join Baez on this case "for fun". What a challenge, to see if he can get a mother who most likely killed her child free.It is just sickening to me that this was a mere game to him with no regard for a deceased child. Him giving the finger towards an AP reporter shows such little class. His lashing out at other lawyers ( only those who didn't agree with him of course) was uncalled for, it wasn't a game pitting lawyer against lawyer, at least it shouldn't have been. Somewhere along the way, it seems he has become a hardened attorney who's only concern is winning or losing with no regard for the victim, in this case a baby girl found in a swampy woods. I think even the Defense knew she was guilty and were shocked at the outcome, then came out acting arrogant, high fiving and giving the finger.
July 6th, 2011 at 6:25 pm
If we are to believe Baez's opening statement that Caylee drowned in the pool, how could the Jury not consider child endangerment/neglect charges? The Jury had two choices of ways of death, chloroform, and pool…The Jury was dead set on not convicting her, all because of a dysfunctional family..IMO I heard the Jurors were crying right before the verdict…Were they crying because they were setting a guilty woman free? Makes me go hmmmmmm. I find it strange they took off after the trial, and didn't sit in on a presser…Strangest case I have ever watched…I have a feeling Judge Perry is not going to let her walk freely out the the jail tomorrow, if six days for giving the bird is an indication…I heard on one of the HLN shows, Perry could tack on two more years..Did you hear that, Art? If you did, please explain…TYVM
July 6th, 2011 at 6:32 pm
I would NEVER watch or listen to Casey Anthony and do not know anybody else that would. I cannot take one more lie from her! She has destroyed innocent lives for her gain and shame on whoever promotes such garbage! I will boycott companies or individuals that promote such garbage! She should never be allowed to gain from the death of precious Caylee. Even if someone believes that Casey did not personally murder her child, she KNEW that Caylee was dead! There should be a penalty for a mother who allows their dead child to rot. Casey should be held responsible and have to financially reimburse every agency and person who spent countless hours searching for Caylee. In Georgia the "runaway bride" was charged and paid restitution for staging her disappearance so how much more should Casey have to pay for searching for her dead child!!!!
July 6th, 2011 at 6:34 pm
Have you heard that Casey has told friends that when she was released she was getting pregnant? Hopefully this is not true…
July 6th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
Casey will live the high life for a few years, then when her money is gone she will pose for sleazy magazines, and/or get in trouble with the law, and be back in the slammer ie" OJ…IMO
However, Baez told Geraldo he and his team were going to take care of her the rest of her life…Baez has a wife and two children, one only two months old..How long will the wife put up with a wild party girl? .I think the liquor at the bar was doing his talking…I've heard she was going to live with Mason, her long lost relative in Houston, go to Europe. The latest I heard she is meeting her Mother, and traveling to an undisclosed location…Speculation is endless..One place I doubt she will live, Hopespring Dr, Orlando.. The media, memories, and dysfunction would be too much, even for heartless, Casey..
July 7th, 2011 at 2:20 am
I think you buried the lead, Art. I defer to you as much more of an expert on this case and others like it, but it isn't until the end of the piece that you write that the Anthony case "cannot compare to [O.J. case] for its mountain of scientific and circumstantial evidence… that was far weightier than what prosecutors presented against Casey Anthony." It was more than just weightier. Jurors have this strange tendency to like evidence, and, in the Anthony case, there didn't seem to be any. They have no idea how this child died, and I can think of a dozen plausible theories, none of which are too flattering to Casey, but all of which would amount to something other than first degree murder. If you can't even prove that a murder occurred, how can you convict someone of murder? The fact that she's a psycho liar and wretched mother doesn't mean she killed the kid. Maybe she was passed out and doesn't even remember. To me, that's reasonable doubt. Lots and lots of reasonable doubt.
July 7th, 2011 at 1:02 pm
You are right on, CB. That's why I need a great editor like you…to avoid shooting myself in the foot…
But absolutely, I kept trying to connect the evidence they presented with the public furor that hyped how it connected the dots, but could not and was not surprised at the verdict. It had to be an easy one for the jury. Like some in the Michael Jackson case who later said they believed he was a pedophile who had molested the last victim, but didn't have evidence to convict beyond a reasonable doubt.
By the time Casey went to the jury, she had been elevated to similar celebrity status, and perhaps it helped that prosecutors harped on liar, liar pants on fire evidence to trash her that didn't prove she was a killer but may have won her sympathy like it often does political candidates who are targets of smarmy attack ads.
You think Did Baez and good acting elevated her to victim status in the eyes of some jurors?
July 13th, 2011 at 4:17 pm
ACTUALLY AGG CHILD ABUSE RESULTING IN DEATH IS FELONY MURDER SHE SHOULD HAVE GOT THAT OR AGGRAVTED MANSLAUGHTER!
July 13th, 2011 at 4:29 pm
Not according to jury foreman and 10 of 12 jurors who voted against conviction at first, before the two others joined them.
July 7th, 2011 at 10:46 am
Casey's charges ranged from child abuse to murder. If the first-degree murder death sentence or life in prison were not applicable, the jury could have still voted for second-degree murder; manslaughter or any number of punishments. A misdemeanor is a slap on the wrist. Teenagers are serving more time in jail for possession of marijuana. If the jury believed Casey Anthony panicked after Caylee drowned and tried to make Caylee's death look like a murder, why isn't Casey being charge for abusing Caylee's corpse by placing her in a trash bag and dumping her? If Jose Baez' theory is true, and Mr. Anthony helped dispose of Caylee's remains, why isn't George Anthony being accused as well? When Jose Baez gave his "acceptance speech" for winning a case in which he used ludicrous "proof" of sexual abuse, causing Casey to become a pathological liar who disposed of her daughter's body, Attorney Baez thanked "his people" in Spanish for standing behind him. I would like to know who "his people" are. If he is trying to making a sweeping statement, trying to include the intelligent Spanish-speaking Floridians from Central and South America, Cuba and other countries, he had better step back. I live in Miami Beach, and the buzz on the streets among the Spanish-speaking citizens is that Jose Baez succeeded in freeing a very guilty person. When he made that ridiculous statement that when his little girl asked him what he did today, he could answer, "I saved a life." I'm sure that isn't the girl (from his first marriage) to whom he had failed to give child support. Who helped to save Caylee's life? During the OJ trial, I was teaching in an inner-city high school up north. When OJ's innocent verdict was announced, many of the African-American students rejoiced. Many of my African-American colleagues, however, were saddened by the outcome. The case served to create a chasm between African-Americans and Whites. The more intelligent members of both racial groups, however, saw that the jury that tried OJ consisted of members who had little education. I am not sure of the education level of Casey' Anthony's jury members, but I'm guessing it can't be very high. It doesn't seem possible that not even one juror fought for more serious charge. If Jose Baez thinks he has the Spanish-speaking citizens of Florida behind him, he had better think again. People with any degree of common sense, regardless of education level, could see that Jose Baez' moves to plant reasonable doubt were ridiculous. Granted, it was not his job to prove innocence, but he promised to uncover the link between Casey's alleged sexual abuse and her nutty behavior. The judge had to throw out that argument for complete lack of evidence. Did Jose Baez actually believe anything his client was telling him?
Since moving to Florida, I have encountered some of the most bizarre people and incidences that I have ever known. Casey was definitely tried by a "jury of her peers." Many people I meet in this state do not seem to think rationally, and I'm not quite sure why. Maybe it is from too much sun. This jury could have chosen to take longer to reach its conclusions, with at least one member holding out for a charge of manslaughter. Instead, they asked no questions, nor did they want to speak to the lawyers. When Cheney Mason held up that chart showing a thermometer with red at the top indicating "guilty" then dark blue to light blue descending to the degree of "not guilty," knew the prosecution was doomed. The sleepy jury came to when they saw a "visual aid" most often used by elementary school teachers to reach First Graders.
The forensics meant nothing, but Cheney's first grade poster got them going. Maybe it hearkened them back to the highest grade they had attended in school.
July 11th, 2011 at 9:29 am
these jurors were peers of casey anthony only, freakin crack headed blind ,deaf and dumb ppl. Jp shoudve gone to the local street ppls spots and choosen them for jurors,at least they would have eaten for a few wks!