A Killer Will Walk Free

The stunning verdict was delivered less then 12 hours after the jury "deliberated". Casey Anthony was found Not Guilty in the death of her daughter, Caylee.

Casey, with her freedom to party restored and the opportunity to FINALLY forget the inconvenient ghost of her murdered daughter, showed her horse teeth, whinnied in delight, and shed a few real tears of relief - for herself. As we all know, Casey's favorite person in the world is Casey.

George and Cindy somberly left the courtroom as soon as the verdict was read. As of this writing, their attorney has said they will have no comment. While they may not have wanted Casey to receive a death sentence, I can hardly believe they are planning a welcome home party for Casey.

As for the jurors - today we have seen what happens when you put the 12 dumbest people in the United States together in one room. Thanks to their incomprehensible verdict, a murdering mother will go free - possibly as early as Thursday. The residents of Pinellas County surely must be proud.

Frankly, I think the jurors found the trial to be a burden they wanted no part of, went to deliberation, agreed amongst themselves to the quickest exit strategy, voted to acquit, and to get the hell out of Dodge. How else to explain today's verdict?

Diane Downs, Susan Smith, and Scott Peterson are in their respective prisons probably thinking, "Lucky biotch! Damn, I wish I'd had that jury!"

Cheney Mason wasted no time in dropping his Southern gentleman facade when he eagerly bashed the media at the defense press conference. Suprisingly, Jose Baez exhibited a modicum of tastefulness, giving a sober, measured commentary to the press. The memory of that moment will quickly fade, as Jose starts cashing in on his "success". Oh, wait - the memory has already faded - I just recalled his savage lies about George Anthony and Roy Kronk that he made in his opening statements.

The defense team, flush with their "victory" made the c-l-a-s-sy decision to trot to a restaurant just across the street from the courthouse and publicly toast each other.

Linda Kenny Baden, Geraldo Rivera, and Sunny Hostin are bleating their satisfaction at the verdict across the airwaves. The remaining talking heads will go on for days about this travesty of justice.

And it was, indeed, a travesty. There never was, and now there never will be, justice for Caylee.

Another Royal Wedding

Celebrating another Royal Wedding - the religious ceremony today of Prince Albert of Monaco and his new Princess, Charlene.

My Boyfriend Bill

With advance apologies to Mrs. Sheaffer, for referring to her hubby as my boyfriend. I am no River Cruz.

Bill Sheaffer has been THE man to listen to for his assessment of the Casey Anthony trial.

My addiction/obsession with this trial runs long and deep. Short-term explanation: I have an ex-in-law who could be Casey Anthony's twin - just as evil, just as sociopathic. Luckily, murder wasn't part of the scenario. But the destruction wreaked by a sociopath is staggering to those left to pick up the pieces of their lives in the aftermath of the damage caused.

But back to my boyfriend, Bill. The talking heads at HLN could learn a great deal from him. Gracious and well-spoken, Mr. Shaeffer has fairly and consistently commented on the Casey Anthony trial. Too often, people are not recognized for simply doing a job and doing it well. Mr Shaeffer has been a rare gem in the media circus that has accompanied this trial.

May Justice Be Served

Caylee Anthony 2005-2008

May justice, finally, be served.

Opening statements in the murder trial of trial of Caylee's mother, Casey Anthony, begin this morning.

Order In the Court

Kudos to Judge Belvin Perry. Looks like there will FINALLY be a jury sworn in on Friday. The "Perry Plan" is working.

Casey spent the majority of Thursday with her face frozen in unpleasant lines. Casey's expression grew even nastier when one woman juror's voice broke as she described hearing of Caylee being found with duct tape wrapped around her head. Mother of the Year can't be bothered to shed a tear over her dead daughter, however.

Jury Selection - Day 10

Mother of the Year, Casey Anthony, sporting a Semi-Snooki Bump in court on Wednesday, May 18, 2011.


Justice for Caylee - yes, I said it, take THAT George and Cindy Anthony - is slow in coming. Jury selection is limping along. Hizzoner Belvin Perry, who has done a masterful job of sheparding the process, is clearly frustrated. The defense is determined to drag the process out as long as possible.

Seating a jury of 12 seems like a goal that will never be achieved. The prosecutors and defense spent an entire morning questioning a single prospective juror, only to have the state strike the man at the end of questioning.

The blog at WFTV was ablaze with commentary; more so when the moderator, Craig, posted a picture of the laptop of one of the lawyers. There, on the screen, was WFTV's blog, being read in real time by the defense team.

After lunch brought a Nancy Grace "BOMBSHELL" moment. Jose Baez was nowehere in sight, Judge Perry enigmatically asked Mason if Casey understood what was going on, and Perry announced court was recessed till 8:30am Thursday morning.

Over at another excellent blog, The Caylee Daily, commentary was exploding as quickly as it was on the WFTV blog, as everyone speculated on the day's events. Hopefully the mystery of the early dismissal will be known this morning.

What are the possibilities? Did Casey fire Baez? Did Baez quit the defense team? Will Casey take a plea deal? Was Baez sicker then most of the hacking, wheezing defense team?

As of last night, no documents had been filed regarding the case. Baez took the time to text members of the media, saying that he left due to a private matter.

Time to hit the blogs and await the WFTV live feed to see if we get any answers this morning. Stay tuned...

UPDATE - 8:19am - Kathi Belich from WFTV is in the courtroom & texted Bruce, our blog moderator for today, Jose Baez IS there.

Manufacturing a Victim and the "Mitigation Specialist

Let's start by solving the mystery of the dark-haired woman hovering over Casey. Her name is Rosalie Bolin, a "Mitigation Specialist".

For those not familiar with the term/profession, a mitigation specialist is someone who is a member of the defense team who gathers information about a defendant, in order to persuade a jury not to impose the death penalty, should the defendant be found guilty.

The addition of Rosalie Bolin add a distinctly unsavory and convoluted twist to an already ugly case. At one time, Ms. Bolin was married to an attorney and raising her four daughters. At some point, Bolin met Oscar Ray Bolin, a former carnival worker, who was sitting in the Hillsborough County jail, awaiting trial and sentencing for the rape, torture, and murder, of three women.

Not deterred by Oscar Bolin's heinous crimes (for which he was convicted and sentenced to death), Ms. Bolin ditched the lawyer hubby and four kids, announced she had found her "soul-mate", and proceeded to MARRY Oscar Bolin, the convicted serial-killer, by telephone.

Those following the case probably noted Ms. Bolin's absence in the courtroom on Saturday. Bolin uses the weekends to travel to the pokey to visit her prince of a spouse.

Apparently, Ms. Bolin's function on the defense team is to compile information to be used to argue against the death penalty for Casey Anthony, should Casey be found guilty and sentenced to death.

The defense has tipped their hand a bit, as to how they are going to proceed with Casey's defense. Baez and Finnell asked each potential juror if they could consider possible "mitigating factors" through out the trial. Their favorite question was asking potential jurors if the could consider age as a mitigating factor. Then they also trotted out tidbits about sexual abuse, family relationships, coping skills, and brain development.

Let's review a few known facts about Casey Anthony. Casey was a reckless, selfish young woman with an aversion to gainful employment, and a penchant for partying. She is either unwilling or unable to identify Caylee's father. She stole money from her grandmother's checking account, and wiped out a friend's checking account while the friend was on vacation. Her relationship with her mother was poisonous, to say the least. She loved having her picture taken, as evinced by the raunchy pictures of her floating about the internet. Since sitting in prison, she has written letters from jail, where she writes that she now "remembers" that her father and brother attempted to sexually molest her. It took 31 days for Casey's mother to track her down, only to have Cindy discover Caylee was nowhere to be found.

Once police were brought on to investigate Caylee's disappearance, Casey continued the Trail of Lies, falsifying employment, creating a fictitious nanny, and refusing to cooperate with the police.

I know, I know, George, Cindy, and Lee Anthony's susequent behavior in the wake of Caylee's disappearance is highly questionable, as well, but they are not on trial here, except in the court of public opinion. And, frankly, my opinion of the Anthony family, et al, ain't that great.

The defense team is clearly trying to eradicate all memory of the true victim in this case - CAYLEE. Casey sits at the defense table, day in and day out, looking stoic or annoyed at the mention of Caylee's name. Since the beginning of the jury selection process, Casey only manages to drum up tears for herself. None have yet been shed by Casey for Caylee.

My words to the defense? Good luck - you're going to need it. Trying to obliterate the mention of Caylee isn't going to work. Nor is trying to present Casey as a victim. You're defending a narcissistic sociopath. Throwing George, Lee, and Cindy Anthony under the bus (unpleasant as Casey's family is), isn't going to raise sufficient reasonable doubt. You can't manufacture an additional victim, when only victim in this case, CAYLEE, is dead.

Oh, and you might want to rethink your choice of a mitigation specialist. A "specialist", married to a serial killer, isn't a good candidate for building a credible defense team, not that you were before Ms. Bolin came on board.