'Judgment With Ashleigh Banfield': How was Casey Anthony declared not guilty despite mounting evidence?
It was a case that shook the whole nation and had holiday goers skip their trip to Disney World in Florida to instead wait in line and score a ticket to view the trial that had been watched by millions across America. Nearly the entire nation was sure that Casey Anthony would be found guilty in the death of her two-year-old toddler, Caylee Anthony. What the jury concluded with, however, left everyone shocked. She was found not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter of a child.
In July 2008, Casey's mother Cindy Anthony had reported that Caylee had been missing for 31 days and that the trunk of her daughter's car smelled like a dead body. When the search for Caylee was on, Casey was out having fun. When she was questioned by the police, her conflicting statements led to growing doubt about her. Casey told the police that Caylee was with a sitter named Zenaida Gonzalez or "Zanny", but that story turned out to be made-up. When police took Casey to Universal Studios, where she claimed she worked, they learned that she had lied about having a job there, after she admitted that she had been fired years ago. Casey was arrested for obstruction of a criminal investigation, giving false statements to law enforcement and child neglect on July 16, 2008.
In December 2008, Caylee's decomposed remains were found with a blanket inside a laundry bag in a wooded area near the Anthony family's house. Investigative reports and trial testimony varied between duct tape being found near the front of the skull and on the mouth of the skull.
Casey's trial lasted for six weeks from May to June 2011. Court TV's latest show 'Judgement With Ashleigh Banfield' premieres with its first episode being about this trial and walks us through those six weeks that ended in a way that enraged nearly everyone. The show also features the presiding judge, Belvin Perry Jr, who spoke about what he felt was missing from the prosecution's arguments.
While it was clear that some form of child abuse was present, the prosecution wanted to pursue the highest charges against Casey. The first three counts were first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter of a child. However, Casey's defense team, which included attorney Jose Baez — who went on to defend NFL star Aaron Hernandez and embittered movie mogul Harvey Weinstein — were successfully able to plant reasonable doubt in whatever was presented by the prosecution.
In fact, Judge Perry believes that part of the reason that the jury found Casey not guilty was because the prosecution did not have an airtight case where they presented how Caylee died. For instance, the prosecution argued that Casey searched for how to make chloroform on the internet, but did not follow up with whether she bought the ingredients necessary.
Additionally, Judge Perry believes that the prosecution failed in trying to pursue the highest charges. Perry believed that the jury and especially the prosecution would need instructions on pursuing lesser charges and he had those instructions prepared. However, the prosecution failed to bring the possibility up, leading to the jury finding Casey not guilty.
'Judgment With Ashleigh Banfield' airs on Court TV on Sunday nights at 8/7c.