The State still has to prove its case
I've avoided commenting on the Casey Anthony trial; not because of a lack of topics, because there are many. Most of those have been covered ad nauseum. The degree of media attention has been surprising; even more surprising is the sense that a guilty verdict was all but a foregone conclusion. Everyone ignored the almost complete lack of evidence, and instead focused on what a sorry human being Casey Anthony was. She was out partying while her daughter was missing, so surely she must be guilty.
A lot of people - probably the majority - have criticized the verdict. If you listened to media coverage, a guilty verdict was a foregone conclusion. So not surprisingly, they are leading the charge in attacking the jury. After all, they can't be wrong. Fortunately, the jurors were not exposed to that coverage because they were sequestered. Instead, all they had was the evidence
The justice system still requires the State to prove it's case beyond a reasonable doubt. Basically that means you shouldn't convict someone because you think they are "probably"guilty. the burden isn't decreased in serious cases, or when a child is involved. No matter how much you want to see "justice" done, that doesn't mean you convict someone on less than sufficient evidence. Far to often jurors give in to the urge to want to hold someone accountable. The most convenient "someone" is the defendant on trial.
I've been asked several times whether I was surprised - the assumption is that I expected her to be found guilty. Frankly, I did think she would be convicted, simply because of the type of case it was. My opinion wasn't based on the evidence, because I didn't think there was much there. I just didn't think the lack of evidence was going to be enough.
Is she guilty? I certainly don't know the answer. but even if she is I still believe justice was done. The jury heard the evidence and didn't believe the State met its burden. They did what they were required to do, and in my mind that is the epitome of "justice".
