<p>I don’t think they can put forth “other theories”…afterall, they’re not claiming that Casey has no knowledge of what happened… It’s not like the Scott Peterson/Laci Peterson trial where the defense’s position is that their client has no idea what happened to his wife, and therefore the defense put forth a few possible scenarios. No, in this case, the defense’s position is that Casey told them that “the Caylee drowned” story is what happened. They can’t later say, “well, there’s this other possible scenario that Caylee was kidnapped while playing in the backyard and someone dumped her in that location.”</p>
<p>I don’t see how this is going to fly. It is possible that Casey did not deliberately kill her child, and though I do believe she is a psychopath, I don’t think that is what happened. I believe that the child died through her neglect/carelessness/abuse with the abuse being something that should not have been done like perhaps drugging the child. Then she got rid of the body so she did not have to deal with the issue. </p>
<p>The idea that her father did this is totally in left field, does not feel right, is not believable and makes me feel even more hardened towards her. Had she come out and said that she accidently killed the child in any of the above scenarios, though I am still horrified and feel it is wrong, I could see how that could happen. </p>
<p>In either case I have a lot of trouble thjinking about someone ditching their beloved child’s body. I don’t know how anyone who is not way off could do that.</p>
<p>No…but the circumstances that surrounded this case made for interesting TV.</p>
<p>When Laci Peterson died, she was just one of many women who were killed by the men in their lives, but there was something very gripping about that story.</p>
<p>Mini…like it or not, certain stories tend to capture the attention of Americans… Andrea Yates and her children, Susan Smith and her children, Scott and Laci Peterson, Casey/Caylee Anthony, Yeardley Love, etc, etc.</p>
<p>Yes, but the defense is also saying that her father knew about it from the day it happened and took actions that don’t seem to make sense. There has to be some reason for this – perhaps they need to find an explanation for actions of his that will eventually be on the record – but it makes the drowning theory much less believable, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Regardless of how the child died, it’s pretty clear that Casey had the body in her car trunk for a period of time and then disposed of it, and that during the same period of time, she was documented as behaving in a carefree way in social situations and not seeming to be under unusual stress. This is one weird person. </p>
<p>But I don’t think you can get the death penalty in Florida for concealing a dead body or being weird. No matter how Caylee died, Casey has committed some crimes, but if the death was accidental, I don’t think they are capital crimes.</p>
<p>Of course, I don’t believe for a minute that it was accidental – unless it was “accidental” in the commission of another crime (such as overdrugging the child with chloroform).</p>
<p>Are Casey’s parents footing the bill for this defense, the defense that includes accusations of abuse and accessory to the incident?</p>
<p>I recall the defense moved to keep the patents out of the courtroom for the length of the trial, but lost the motion. I see now why they may not have wanted them present. Can you imagine the cost of this high powdered defense team? The team has to have asked for a huge retainer. I can’t imagine the patents wanting to cough up money now. I suspect the defense is not even done with the jaw-dropping accusations against them. All this money to defend a liar and a sociopath. The patents have lost everything, no matter what the verdict is.</p>
<p>Caylee was living with Caseys parents until Casey became angry with her mother and took Caylee to live with her? After several weeks of not seeing Caylee and pleading with Casey to bring her back, the parents went looking for Caylee.</p>
<p>I dont think Mr. Anthony had anything to do with Caylees death. Accident or not, Caylee was dead long before the Anthonys became worried and went out searching for her.</p>
<p>The parents are very middle class – he was a cop and she’s a nurse. I don’t know who is paying for the defense either. Good question, sunnyflorida.</p>
<p>I googled my question of who is paying for the defense and this question is being asked on boards everywhere haha! The answer is that the team likely signed on for a percentage of profits from future book and movie/TV deals, given the publicity. Ahhhhh. Kinda sick.</p>
I’ve wondered about the death penalty in this case too, Marian. I’m not an advocate of capital punishment, though I do believe that there are certain egregious, very rare crimes that deserve it. But even in a state like Florida, where juries seem to vote for the death penalty without much hesitation, isn’t there usually physical evidence that confirms the circumstances of the murder? I don’t see how the prosecution can prove that the manner of death was deliberate here.</p>
<p>I do think that Casey Anthony is a very dangerous individual, though, and whatever the punishment may be, I hope she’ll be removed from society for a very long time.</p>
<p>The defense’s goal is to avoid the death penalty and they are obviously willing to do anything to get there. The abuse allegation is a classic way to avoid the death penalty. As a parent, I’m not sure how far I would go to avoid the death penalty for my child - no matter what he/she did. I’m not saying the parents were aware of how far the defense would go but putting the life of your child above your own is not unusual. Of course, some people are missing that chip - Casey included.</p>
<p>If that is their strategy, in this case, it could seriously backfire. As a parent, I would only go along with ruining my reputation for the sake of my child if I thought there was a chance that it would be believable. In this case I think that the jury could very well be so disgusted with the tactics that they opt for the death penalty anyway. Also, if the parents are cooperating with this defense scheme, why bring the older brother into it? She claims that he also abused her. Is ruining the reputation of the whole family necessary to come up with a sympathetic story that will exonerate her? It all seems so weird to me. </p>
<p>Can’t wait to se how the defense explains the duct tape, chloroform and neck breaking internet search, etc.</p>
<p>The defense seems so desperate that their strategy appears nonsensical to me. Why don’t they say that Casey had been abducted by aliens? That might sway the jury.</p>
<p>I’m not saying that it’s absolutely impossible that she was abused, but to say that the child’s death was a result of that along with the issue of the duct tape, syringe, pictures of her partying, text messages to friends, etc., is all so far fetched.</p>
<p>Not true. Once declared indigent, Florida taxpayers will pick up the bill for the defense COSTS, but not the defense FEES.
Around $125,000 was paid out for defense fees PRIOR to the indigency declaration, and it is likely there is a contract in place for a percentage of book and movie deals. Fees paid by the state so far have been for investigative costs and expert witnesses.</p>
<p>In fact, $275,000, was raised for the defense fund PRIOR to indigency, including $200,000 paid by ABC News.</p>
<p>In the motion regarding her indigent status, Anthony’s lead attorney, Jose Baez, and Chicago death penalty attorney Andrea Lyon said that they are not asking the state to pay their legal fees. They asked for assistance with fees for the service of subpoenas, investigations, travel, experts to interpret forensic evidence, expert witness fees and the cost of depositions.</p>