Casey Anthony Verdict - By Reason of Our Insanity

Like most folks, I was shocked at the outcome of the Casey Anthony trial.  I was sure that the jury was going to find her guilty of murder.  My initial guess was that the jury didn't want to convict because they didn't want to see Anthony face the death penalty.  I think my assumption was correct. One of the jurors was interviewed by ABC News.  She said that the prosecution didn't produce enough evidence for the punishment.  Huh? The punishment? I thought that the jury was to decide if Casey Anthony had committed a crime not if the punishment fit the crime.

Another juror was quoted as saying that there was reasonable doubt.  Marcia Clark has an interesting opinion piece on reasonable doubt:

http://m.yahoo.com/w/news_america/worse-o-j-231200719.html?orig_host_hdr=news.yahoo.com&.intl=us&.lang=en-us

 

I agree with her premise that most folks don't understand reasonable doubt.  My guess is that the confusion stems from not understanding probability vs. possibility.  Is it possible that the baby died in a swimming pool accident? Is it possible that the family tried to cover up the accident? Is it possible that Casey Anthony's behavior after the accident was a result of abuse? Yes to all.  Are any of these assertions probable? Based on the evidence the answer would be No.  The evidence points to the probability that she killed her baby and tried to hide that murder from her family, friends and the police.
Reasonable doubt does not mean that no doubt exists.  The standard is that no other logical explanation can be made from the facts presented.  Logically it doesn't make sense that all of this was an accident when you look at the facts and evidence in this case.  The jurors may have had doubts about whether or not this was premeditated, but that isn't reasonable doubt.


NOTE: One of the jurors said something to the effect that their job is done and they deserve to be left alone.  I disagree.  I think that each of them owes the public an explanation of how they arrived at the verdict.  Especially when you consider that the majority of folks who heard the same evidence and watched the same testimony drew a different conclusion.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre