Justice

I am not a political kind of person, in any sense of the word.  I don't advertise my feelings about a lot of "political" events, not because I don't care, but because it doesn't always make sense to go loudly campaigning for something.  Again, it's not because I don't care.  This post will probably touch the nerves of some people.  *DISCLAIMER:  I'm not trying to upset anyone!!  I do not intend to start any sort of politically motivated word war!!  I will not engage, if you try to bait me to do so.*  The views expressed in this blog are mine, and mine alone and are not meant to harm, intimidate, beat, injure, distress, hurt or otherwise persecute any person, living or dead.  It's just a blog.

I haven't really followed the Caylee Marie Anthony case, however, there was a lot - and I mean A LOT - of traffic about it on Facebook today.  Today, the jury found Caylee's mom, Casey Anthony, not guilty of murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter.  Caylee was a 2-year-old girl from Orlando, Florida who went missing and was found dead.  She was reported missing by her grandmother 6 months after she disappeared, and her skeletal remains were found in a nearby forested area.  How she died may never be known.  One theory is that it was an accidental drowning, and the family tried to cover it up as a kidnap/murder.  Another theory is that her mother killed her.  In the jury's verdict given today, Casey Anthony was found guilty on 4 counts of misdemeanor providing false information.  She faces a maximum of 4 years in jail, but because she's already served time while awaiting trial, she may walk out clear and free on the day of her sentencing, July 7, 2011.

Disclaimer #2: I am not in favor of Casey Anthony walking away from this case.

Many of the comments I've seen regarding this case lament the justice system itself for failing.  However, I'm not sure that that's entirely correct.  Our justice system is flawed, no doubt.  But the prosecutor's team couldn't get enough solid evidence of Casey's guilt to convince the 12-member jury that she actually did it, that she actually killed her little girl.  There were obviously discrepancies in the reports of what happened.  Casey lied about a number of things.  Who knows how many other people involved with this case lied, too.  Perhaps there were things that were mishandled by the prosecution.  Who really knows?  The justice system says there needs to be "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" that someone is guilty of the named crime.  For whatever reason, the prosecution couldn't give America what we wanted- solid proof, beyond a reasonable doubt that Casey Anthony is guilty of murder.

So, Casey may get off essentially scott free.  Is that fair?  Not to poor Caylee.  However, if Caylee's death was an accident, Casey doesn't necessarily deserve to go to jail for murder.  Negligence, yes.  Child abuse, probably.  Reporting false information, definitely.  Any other reasonable charge that we could lay on this creature, I'd be all for it.  I certainly don't think that 2-year-old Caylee should be dead, and I definitely don't think that things were handled correctly on the family's side.  I also don't necessarily think that someone should go to jail just because most of America thinks they are guilty.

If any of my kids went missing for 31 minutes, I would be calling the police... let alone 31 days as Caylee was. Do I think that Casey was grossly negligent?  You bet I do!!  Regardless of the circumstances of Caylee's death, it should have been reported.  Accident or not, someone in that family should have spoken up.  THAT'S the part that's not fair.

All this isn't really the point of this post.  Feel how you will about the case, say what you want about our justice system.  However, let's not give Casey Anthony or her parents any more media attention.  Don't buy the book, don't watch the movie (and you KNOW there will be both), don't even watch the news reports about Casey.  Don't give her, or the media, the satisfaction.  Sometimes WE are the ones who perpetuate these situations.  Not all the time, but definitely sometimes.  Let us not put any money in the pockets of Casey Anthony or any big corporation who may try to profit from this tragic loss.  It's happened before, and they'll try to make it happen again, but that's where we can stop it!  News is news, that's all.  Not a book tour, not a movie... just news.

Please don't misread this as me being cold-hearted toward Caylee.  I will grieve for her, and I will pray that somewhere a god will take care of her.  I am sickened by all the media hype and noise that is made for things like this, that should just be let go.  Let the little girl rest in peace.  Let Karma take it's toll on the Anthony family.  Pray that justice will be served by the way of the Grand Universe.  Whatever God you believe in, pray that he/she may protect Caylee and others who have died needlessly, and that those who hurt her (and ultimately, those who hurt anyone) will pay their due price in the end.  We may not be able to control how the jury voted, or what happens to Casey, but we can control the hype.  We can control the profit that is made.  We can put a stop to the glorification of murder by boycotting ANY books, movies, magazines, etc that focus on the stories of people who commit such crimes.  There is something to be said about learning from the actions of others, and understand why criminals act the way they do, but book signings and movies don't help that cause.

To quote a friend on Facebook, "Worry not, dear one.  The one who hurt you will pay in the end."  I believe that Karma will have it's way.  Thank you.  I now renounce my position atop my soapbox, and once again return to the jovial, mild-mannered woman you once knew.  Just don't ask me to read the book when it's published.