Maybe the truth was just too difficult to absorb or too horrific to accept. Perhaps the jury could only take in the more digestible theory tossed out the first day of the trial … that it must have been an accident so devastating that someone needed to make it disappear, make it anything but what it was even though there were not then, nor are there now, any facts to support that theory, circumstantial or otherwise. But maybe the alternative was just too unspeakable for them to bear.
Meme is upset, I mean really upset. She believes in her soul that Casey Anthony got away with killing her little girl, not necessarily on purpose but purposeful or not, Caylee’s not here anymore. And Casey knew she wasn’t here as she frolicked flamboyantly through 31 days seemingly without a care in the world.
Meme is upset, I mean really upset. She believes in her soul that Casey Anthony got away with killing her little girl, not necessarily on purpose but purposeful or not, Caylee’s not here anymore. And Casey knew she wasn’t here as she frolicked flamboyantly through 31 days seemingly without a care in the world.
Sometimes when I write I'm not sure where Meme leaves off and I begin. I'm sort of an extension of her or maybe she is of me. But I can write for her almost as if she’s writing herself and that’s what I need to do today.
The trial was on TV every day, all day, for weeks. Her laptop in front of her, Meme would mute the TV during commercials and increase the volume on her laptop so she wouldn't miss a minute. She was reading Casey's letters from jail and absorbing evidence that tumbled around in her mind and invaded her dreams as she slept.
It would have been fun if it wasn’t all so horribly real, if it hadn't been about a little girl’s death at the hands of her own mother. The more she got to know the family, the more upset she became.
And then the verdict came down. As the clerk read the first charge followed by the words "not guilty" Meme said "she's going to walk". I wondered how Meme could be so positive about her guilt, but except for a few pictures, she saw and heard everything the jury did. And because they were often removed from the courtroom, everyone watching saw even more than the jury. So the armchair viewers became the silent jurors. The majority of those people heard the verdict with shock and disbelief and they're not so silent anymore.
In the days that followed, she tried to work through it. She wondered how the jury could have seen it so differently, puzzled over what trial they were watching … certainly not the one she had seen. A couple of jurors insisted they found "reasonable doubt" which left them unsure whether it was murder or an accident that caused Caylee’s death. Even though more doubt surrounded the accident theory than murder, they chose accident.
Reasonable doubt … maybe we live in a time where we're just too reasonable, excusing the inexcusable, forgiving the unforgivable, there are no bad people, just good people who do bad things … judge not lest you be judged or something like that. One of the jurors admitted she wouldn’t be comfortable judging another person.
So we look for excuses. We search for a family secret that could possibly explain the unexplainable. We give the benefit of the doubt even when little doubt exists. Children are raised with no consequence for bad behavior. Casey herself was only 22 years old when her little girl’s life ended. Her behavior for the 31 days following the death of her child was undeniably diabolical.
Meme believes the jury just couldn't accept what seemed so obvious to so many of us. Accepting the reality of little Caylee dying at the hands of the mother she adored was so abhorrent that they felt compelled to accept the hypothetical that Caylee drowned in the pool and her Mom simply lost her mind for the moment and committed unspeakable acts, or possibly someone else did along with her or on her behalf. They couldn’t judge because no undeniable absolute proof positive was placed in their laps. And then toward the end a witness who could explain it away, make Casey’s behavior okay, just one of many reactions a person can have when faced with enormous grief. The Defense played a game of psychological manipulation forcing the jury to take their eyes off the ball and focus on something more palatable … sleight of hand, smoke and mirrors.
And they succeeded. It’s easier to accept an accidental death, nobody’s fault. This pretty young woman couldn't possibly be so evil that she would drug her child to sleep and then either by mistake or on purpose overdose or smother her to death.
They sat in the jury box and saw the circumstantial evidence woven masterfully. Maybe they returned to their hotel rooms alone and away from their families and were so haunted by what they had seen that they just couldn't come to that conclusion. Maybe they couldn’t see the bits and pieces that separately could not condemn, but pieced together most assuredly could.
It would have been fun if it wasn’t all so horribly real, if it hadn't been about a little girl’s death at the hands of her own mother. The more she got to know the family, the more upset she became.
And then the verdict came down. As the clerk read the first charge followed by the words "not guilty" Meme said "she's going to walk". I wondered how Meme could be so positive about her guilt, but except for a few pictures, she saw and heard everything the jury did. And because they were often removed from the courtroom, everyone watching saw even more than the jury. So the armchair viewers became the silent jurors. The majority of those people heard the verdict with shock and disbelief and they're not so silent anymore.
In the days that followed, she tried to work through it. She wondered how the jury could have seen it so differently, puzzled over what trial they were watching … certainly not the one she had seen. A couple of jurors insisted they found "reasonable doubt" which left them unsure whether it was murder or an accident that caused Caylee’s death. Even though more doubt surrounded the accident theory than murder, they chose accident.
Reasonable doubt … maybe we live in a time where we're just too reasonable, excusing the inexcusable, forgiving the unforgivable, there are no bad people, just good people who do bad things … judge not lest you be judged or something like that. One of the jurors admitted she wouldn’t be comfortable judging another person.
So we look for excuses. We search for a family secret that could possibly explain the unexplainable. We give the benefit of the doubt even when little doubt exists. Children are raised with no consequence for bad behavior. Casey herself was only 22 years old when her little girl’s life ended. Her behavior for the 31 days following the death of her child was undeniably diabolical.
Meme believes the jury just couldn't accept what seemed so obvious to so many of us. Accepting the reality of little Caylee dying at the hands of the mother she adored was so abhorrent that they felt compelled to accept the hypothetical that Caylee drowned in the pool and her Mom simply lost her mind for the moment and committed unspeakable acts, or possibly someone else did along with her or on her behalf. They couldn’t judge because no undeniable absolute proof positive was placed in their laps. And then toward the end a witness who could explain it away, make Casey’s behavior okay, just one of many reactions a person can have when faced with enormous grief. The Defense played a game of psychological manipulation forcing the jury to take their eyes off the ball and focus on something more palatable … sleight of hand, smoke and mirrors.
And they succeeded. It’s easier to accept an accidental death, nobody’s fault. This pretty young woman couldn't possibly be so evil that she would drug her child to sleep and then either by mistake or on purpose overdose or smother her to death.
They sat in the jury box and saw the circumstantial evidence woven masterfully. Maybe they returned to their hotel rooms alone and away from their families and were so haunted by what they had seen that they just couldn't come to that conclusion. Maybe they couldn’t see the bits and pieces that separately could not condemn, but pieced together most assuredly could.
Who knows? We thought she was guilty; the jury said she wasn't. But more than one person knows what happened that day. When more than one person knows something, it's not a secret anymore. The awful truth, like scum, is sure to rise to the top one day.
And even if it doesn't, will Casey ever truly walk free? The media tells us she'll make money from people who believe they can draw the truth from her. I wonder if she knows her own truth anymore. She’s told so many lies that it all blends into something even she can’t figure out. She might be pitied if she weren’t so despicable. The best thing we can do right now is ignore her.
Life rights our wrongs either in this world or the next, but usually this one. The guilty may not be in prison but neither are they free. If she’s guilty, she carries that burden forever. Casey Anthony will not move gently through this life. She could change her name, her appearance, shut the door and never look back if she wanted. But her jailhouse letters tell how Casey reveled in her celebrity; she would ponder how to wear her hair the next day or what behavior the camera may have picked up in court. She’s shown no grief, no remorse, and no accountability for anything she has done. Cameras will follow her, strangers will write to her, even send her money, but the attraction is neither one of awe nor admiration.
Life rights our wrongs either in this world or the next, but usually this one. The guilty may not be in prison but neither are they free. If she’s guilty, she carries that burden forever. Casey Anthony will not move gently through this life. She could change her name, her appearance, shut the door and never look back if she wanted. But her jailhouse letters tell how Casey reveled in her celebrity; she would ponder how to wear her hair the next day or what behavior the camera may have picked up in court. She’s shown no grief, no remorse, and no accountability for anything she has done. Cameras will follow her, strangers will write to her, even send her money, but the attraction is neither one of awe nor admiration.
The final verdict is not yet in; the final court has not yet spoken.
You’ve found safe harbor, sweet Caylee … rest with the angels.
You’ve found safe harbor, sweet Caylee … rest with the angels.
‘Til next time ...
Molly
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