Guilty or Not Guilty

I really debated about posting this.

I don't want to seem controversial and I don't want to use my blog for sensation.

Yet, somehow I know I must get some of my thoughts down on what happened Tuesday.  When I first heard the verdict, while watching Fox live online, I was shocked and angry.  Yet, after much reflection about our justice system, the job of the jury, and the little I had read (and I read much more afterward), I realized that I had to change my attitude toward the whole situation.

The fact that Casey Anthony was acquitted of murder has set the whole world on edge.  People are angry because they feel justice wasn't given and they have blamed the jurors for not looking at evidence, wanting to get the whole thing "done and over with"...there is a lot of finger pointing and tons of emotion over the case right now.

The fact is that no one clearly knows just how little Caylee died.  The autopsy was inconclusive as to the cause of death.  No one knows exactly who killed Caylee, even though there was a lot of suspicious behavior and bad behavior on the part of Casey.  Bad behavior does not mean murder.

There is no smoking gun.  There was nothing conclusive, no forensic evidence to link Casey Anthony to the murder of her little girl.

Our justice system cannot be based on emotion or speculation.  Jurors must bring a verdict based on evidence, and the fact is that there just wasn't enough evidence because little Caylee's body was too decomposed to gain the evidence needed to make the prosecution's case stronger.

I've read comments such as "we need to do away with the jury trials".  And then what?  Only have judges to decide what a verdict should be?  That could get out of hand very quickly.  You think that there is abuse of justice in our courts right now - just want until one person has to decide your fate - not 12 or more people randomly chosen from all walks of life.  This is one our country's systems of checks and balances to make sure that every accused person gets a fair trial.

And might I remind my readers that a jury must assume innocence unless the prosecution can prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is indeed guilty.

In this case the prosecution clearly did not do that.

Honestly, I would not wish my worst enemy to have had to sit on that jury.

To accuse the jury of shirking their responsibility is speculation at best - and at worst to show a lack of understanding of what a juror faces.  I've been a juror before.  The responsibility you have to decide the fate of another American citizen is grave and heavy and I don't hesitate to say that I believe with my whole heart that this jury did not take their responsibility lightly!

This jury was faced with bringing a verdict that may have sent Casey Anthony to her death.  This was a death penalty trial.  Imagine the weight of that verdict.  Imagine the tremendous responsibility they carried knowing that if they were not 100% convinced - based on evidence, not emotion - that she indeed murdered her daughter, they would be committing murder by sending a possibly innocent person to their death.

I applaud the jury.  They did what they had to do regardless of the fact that they knew they would become some of the most hated people in the world.  They brought a verdict based on the evidence they were presented with, knowing that this trial would be compared to that of O.J. Simpson.  They performed their job well despite the pressure of being on the world stage and despite the pressure to bring a verdict the rest of the world was demanding.

I know we all want justice for Caylee. I want justice for Caylee.  It breaks my heart that a little girl was murdered and thrown away.  From our standpoint, no one truly mourned her death and that makes us angry.  Casey and her family lied to the police the entire time, she partied, she got a tattoo and showed no emotion at all.  That makes us even more angry.  The defense threw a huge victory party and rubbed it in our faces with all the wine and booze.  That only incensed us all the more!

And you know what?  We should be angry.  We should be angry every time someone offends, hurts, or murders a little child.  Because it offends God greatly.

But in our anger, in our longing for justice, may we not forget that anger does not and should not decide one's fate. Justice means that both sides must present convincing arguments based on evidence, science, witnesses, forensics; and juries must decide based on these facts, not on circumstantial evidence, emotion, or opinion.  The alternative is to return to the Old West days of posses and stringing up presumed outlaws from the nearest tree.  That's not justice, that's just righteous anger run amok.  And we should have no part in that.

Yes, Tuesday was a sad day.  It was a sobering day.

Did Casey Anthony murder her little girl?  We don't know.  Most think they know, but the fact is - based on evidence - we don't know.

But I do know one thing.  The guilty are never free.  Whoever performed this heinous crime will one day be accountable before Almighty God.  If the guilty are not punished in this life, they surely will in the next - and it will be worse for them then than now.

On this, we can rest assured!

In the meantime, let us give the jury some benefit of the doubt.  Let us thank God for this great country, for citizens who are willing to give of their time and freedom to serve our great nation in such a sacrificial way, and let us remember that if we give justice - true justice...in the measure it is given it will one day be received.

I for one am grateful to them for a job well done!



Thank you for sharing...