I am compiling a collection of essays that can serve as a snapshot of our outrage at the Casey Anthony verdict at this particular point and time. So timeliness is crucial. I share mine with you as a sample and invite you to submit your own essay. Guidelines: 1)Not more than 1000 words 2) Please focus on the following subjects: jury, verdict, and/or sentencing. You can write about lessons, theories, remedies, frustration, obsessions, etc. or anything else you like on the identified subjects. It can be humorous, passionate, factual, etc. You can send them as attachments of emails. Your call. Email to: golito144@google.com or goli@aol.com
How do I let this go? We must move on but there is still unfinished business and I don’t know what that business is!
I had a conversation, the day before sentencing, with a person who is deeply religious. She was outraged at the verdict and said she could, “…not wait for Judgment Day. What we need is a sniper, now!” Wow! I could not believe my ears.
Hearing the media say this morning, “This is it! Sentencing day! Casey may walk away a free woman!” was irritating to say the least. I felt anxious watching the sentencing on tv. This was our last chance at Caylee justice. Our last hurrah. I pleaded in my head, “Please Judge Perry! Four more years. Give us that much!”
The sentencing brought this all home for me. I am indignant and plagued with feelings of helplessness; with this gnawing feeling that the Verdict did not speak to the public’s truth. And even though I know in my head that it is not the job of the jurors to speak MY TRUTH I continue to be led by my heart thereby looping, like cable programming, these feelings of let down. I have vowed more times than I care to admit about letting this go and moving on but find myself stuck in this vortex that is the Casey Anthony trial, tirelessly talking about the same thing, over and over again.
“Heal.”, I say to myself. “Go to sleep.” “Let it go.”
My problem is that I feel I was more vested than the jury and that bothers me. I happen to live in FL, approximately 15 miles from the site, and for the past 3yrs have allowed this case to enter my kitchen almost every evening as I prepared dinner. Such involvement makes me feel I have a horse in this race!
Now I am expected to shut up and accept the verdict, sentencing, and Ms Anthony’s new and potentially fabulous lifestyle because the jury has spoken. And so I say, F*** the jury, the verdict and this pathetic, on-lifesupport, sentence for lying to law enforcement. This is not acceptable and even though we cannot change this, we can work on changes to prevent this from recurring. This is an abomination.
According to a juror’s account the jury was confused. She said that jurors did not understand when a witness was called if it was called by the defense of prosecution. They could not understand why witnesses were cooperating one minute and not cooperating the next. They could not understand who was on what side. These are basics crucial to understanding what was being presented to them. Why were they so uninformed when the events were clearly and masterfully presented by a stellar team of prosecutors? Were they too tired and therefore not hearing what was being presented to them? Perhaps they all have ADD. I am angry.
This saga has been that juncture where a Shakespearean tragedy meets Barnum & Bailey. Caylee was murdered by her mother! And no, we cannot undo this verdict, but I can say thanks to the First Amendment that we sometimes take for granted, and freely state that our jury system is archaic and very flawed. We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to prosecute with the best talent we have, then throw a bunch of ordinary people in a room, hand them a confusing set of forms with complicated legal jargon, and assign to them the most important part of a trial, the verdict. There is something very wrong with this.
There is already talk of a Caylee Act which will make it a legal mandate that a missing child be reported immediately. If this act had been in place, Casey would now be doing time. That is a good start. In kind, we too must all take the misguided energy we have been wasting on Casey and use it instead to honor the memory of the child we lost. In order to honor Caylee we need to take action and help children who are victims of abuse and neglect. Those who have been luckier than Caylee and are still alive. This is a call to arms.
I look forward to the day when I do not have to see that split screen with Casey's face on it every time I turn on my tv.
I am left with nothing but questions at this point like, Why that very public and offensive post-verdict champagne party by the Defense? Why was Casey not charged with obstruction of justice or perjury?
This is no attack on the superb job done by the prosecution or the Judge. Just questions upon questions that will with time subside.
I will miss the many wonderful people in the courtroom, the puckering judge, the brilliant prosecutors, and my Twitter friends.
The day the trial ended a rainbow formed over the courthouse sky as if Caylee had thanked us. This afternoon, on the day of Casey’s sentencing, lightening struck the tall pine tree that marks the site where Caylee’s remains were disposed of. It makes one wonder.
Casey’s got 6 more days in prison and then she walks. She showed up all made to her sentencing today. Hair loose, make up, and flashing a big smile. She was lit from within as she batted her eyelashes at her lawyer. But for now she can put her hair back in a bun and go wash her face cause its not over yet. I think we have lost this battle but it doesn’t have to be a total loss. Let us not let Caylee die in vain. Jeff Ashton said yesterday in an interview that we should all “Turn this rage into positive.” Smart man!
