It's a sad world out there, and we cannot right every wrong, cannot make just every injustice, but it is our duty not only as Americans, but as human beings to utilize the one thing that sets us apart from every other creature on this planet: Reason.
Over the last few days I've pondered incessantly over the idea of proving someone guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Is it necessary? My culture and my country tell me yes, but my gut tells me to listen to my instincts. A lack of concrete evidence does not mean that there is no reasonable doubt. I think reasonable doubt is just about the story, the abstract, the logic behind something. I don't think just because I can't hold it in my hand does not mean that the truth is beyond my grasp.
With the recent uproar following the outcome of the Casey Anthony trial, there are many questions circulating about America's justice system.
I personally did not follow the Casey Anthony trial much aside from reading some updates. The entire country followed this case, and many feel like it is the O.J. Simpson case of my generation, or much like the Ramsey case from a number of years ago. I don't want to liken this case with any other, mostly because I feel it's not ethically fair to compare victims of crimes to each other in a court room. Caylee Anthony was a toddler, incapable of defense, incapable of evil and void of any capability of forcing an adult to commit any kind of wrong in her name. This is a question of justice.
After detailed research, and asking the opinions of many followers of the case, I do agree that not enough concrete evidence existed to prove Anthony's guilt "beyond reasonable doubt."
However, I think she was guilty. I'm willing to put money on it.
While injustice is common in this world, and in America, for that matter, our justice system has taken pride in being one of the most effective systems in the world. It's not foolproof by any means, and many guilty have walked free whilst the innocent have been imprisoned or put to death. No one is perfect, no government, no society, no group, no single being. But the murder of a child by the one they called mother is beyond inexcusable. It's an ultimate form of rape. She took the innocence and life of a defenseless being.
The prosecutors were inexperienced for so high-profile a case, and the defense attorneys seemed to have the memory span of a goldfish, but one thing was clear, and was even more so when the verdict was read. Anthony lied to the police. She was found guilty of 4 counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer. She lied about the following:
She told police she spoke to Caylee on July 15, 2008, the day she was reported missing by her grandmother who had been repeatedly asking about Caylee and finally called officials when Casey failed to produce the child.
She lied about having a job as an event planner at Universal Studios, then later admitted she didn't work there when she took them to one of the buildings.
She lied about a babysitter and former girlfriend of Jeffrey Hopkins, a one-time boyfriend of hers. He also stated that he had no child, and had never met anyone by the name of Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez, the supposed ex-girlfriend.
She claimed her friend and co-worker at Universal Studios was named Juliette Lewis. Casey and her mother, Cindy, went to help Lewis with a fundraiser, but after waiting for about 90 minutes, Lewis didn't show up, Cindy Casey testified. Universal had said that no one named Juliette Lewis worked there.
Casey Anthony told her mother that the father of Caylee was a man named Eric Baker. She later called home frantically to tell her mother that Eric Baker had been killed in a car crash. Anthony even told detectives she had Baker's obituary to prove Caylee's father was dead. It's never been confirmed Baker is the father of Caylee and it's still unclear the paternity of Caylee.
Casey Anthony told her mother that she was in Jacksonville and was going to stay longer to attend Jules' wedding. She was actually staying at the home of her boyfriend Tony Lazzarro and another friend's apartment in Orlando.
Casey Anthony told her mother at different times during the month that the girl was missing that Caylee was at Disney World, was at Sea World, was at Universal Studios. Caylee was already dead.
"I don't know where she is and that is the God's honest truth," Casey Anthony told police on July 16, 2008.
She cried when the verdict was read. I would cry too if I had gotten away with murder. I firmly believe in our justice system, I just don't trust it. I think it's tainted with the human touch. It works on paper, but in high-profile cases, we get jurors who are not 100% in it for the truth. Whether it's the chance to hold another person's life in your hands, or to possibly get your 15 minutes of fame, or a way to get back at a symbolic person or system, it's tainted with the bias of American people with American problems. I think this contributed to the outcome of the case.
Regardless, I'm unsure what may come of all of this. But I know one thing. This country is in an uproar, the Anthony family has received threats, and on Wednesday, Casey Anthony will once again walk free with nothing more than a slap on the wrist and a mountain of lawyers' fees.
Is this justice? Was there really reasonable doubt? After all the lies, the deceit, the changing of her story; if we use Reason, what conclusion do we come to in a situation like this?
GUILTY.
I don't doubt her guilt. I believe she killed her child. I don't know if she covered it up, or someone else did. I don't know if Caylee really was kidnapped and murdered by someone else, although I doubt it. She is Guilty. Beyond Reasonable Doubt, she is guilty. Her lies revealed her panic. Her panic revealed the truth. There was something she was trying to hide about what happened, and her reaction? Guilt. I firmly believe whether it was by her hands or not, she directly contributed to the death of her own child.