“Wow.” Prosecutor Jeff Ashton mouthed the word of disbelief as the jury handed down its verdict in the Casey Anthony case last summer. He wasn’t alone at being stunned at hearing “not guilty” on the three felony counts.
I know I was among the many Orlando residents who had followed the case for three years who were left shaking their heads. Maybe Casey Anthony wasn’t guilty of first-degree murder of her toddler daughter Caylee, but surely she was responsible for Caylee’s death? But the jury didn’t connect the dots the way we had. Did we just think we knew more?
I’m still asking myself that after reading Ashton’s new book, Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony, written with Lisa Pulitzer. It’s a detailed account of the case against Casey from the insider’s point of view, and Ashton’s preaching to the choir as far as I’m concerned. Reading it all together in black-and-white — the initial 911 calls and conversations with law enforcement, the transcripts of jail house meetings and calls, the depositions, the expert testimony — reinforces what I had heard previously.
What was new are Ashton’s opinions, although he telegraphed his distaste for defense attorney Jose Baez throughout the trial. So, it’s not surprising to see Baez described as “smarmy” and compared to a character in My Fair Lady, “oozing charm from every pore / he oiled his way across the floor.” Casey’s mother Cindy Anthony comes across as the queen of denial in “a lethally toxic codependent relationship” with her daughter. Father George, whom Casey accused of sexually molesting her and of drowning Caylee in the family pool, appears to be a decent enough guy bewildered by tragedy.
As for Casey herself, she is an accomplished, habitual, fluent liar. She was constantly, boldly reinventing her story as circumstances forced her hand, one lie leading to another and another. Every now and then she would reach “the end of the hall” — as she did when she took investigators to her nonexistent workplace at Universal Studios — and was forced to admit something wasn’t true, but more lies would inevitably follow.
The jury found reasonable doubt with the prosecution’s case. The duct tape didn’t work for them as the smoking gun.
Ashton writes: “Part of interpreting a crime scene is eliminating things that don’t make sense. You hope to convince jurors to use their common sense as well. So is there any reason someone would put duct tape over the nose and mouth of a dead child? … People don’t make accidents look like murder unless they are covering something up.”
Still, he didn’t buy duct tape on Caylee’s nose and mouth as some sort of cover-up. The only reason that made sense to him was that it was placed there to keep her from breathing — “premeditation, plain and simple.”
But very little is plain and simple about the Casey Anthony case except that a beautiful little girl died in unknown circumstances. We may speculate that it was murder or an accident, but we’ll never know. Casey Anthony is a convicted liar, and any scenario she outlines and/or details will always be suspect.
Open Book: I’m still conflicted that I watched the Casey Anthony trial, the biggest reality show in town. Maybe because it was local, because I knew many of the print and broadcast reporters covering the trial, because the judge shops at my Publix, because George Anthony was a security guard at the Sentinel when I worked there. Maybe it’s because I’m still a newsie. The publisher sent me a copy of Imperfect Justice by Jeff Ashton (William Morrow). Now I don’t want to hear or read anymore about this sad story. I think.
On a Clear Day I Can Read Forever 
I’m glad to see your review of this. I wondered if I could handle any more. But I love true crime, always have, and this is the mac-daddy of them all in my opinion. I was pretty invested in the story being local, and so was my mom. In fact, she was on the news when she put stuffed animals at the site where they found Caylee’s bones. I know enough about the law to (sort of) understand where the jury was coming from, but common sense told me something completely different. Ugh. I think like you I need to read this then move on.
It’s interesting reading your account since you actually live in Orlando. People and news seem always more intense when they are from your home town.
I’m not from Florida, but when I first heard of this story back in ’08, I couldn’t believe that this could really be happening. What made it so incredulous was that these peoples’ lives seemed so perfect. I mean, not without fault or everyday problems, but relatively speaking, compared to the missing/murdered children from families involved with drugs, low-income, single family barely making it… To me, it appeared crazy that a young, sane, mother who was provided everything she needed could somehow “lose” her daughter because she got in her way.
Do you think this story would still have been hot if Nancy Grace weren’t involved? I think the media and the sunshine laws helped more than hurt this case. I think it helped keep LE accountable, even though many, maybe even those on the jury, thought that LE was too zealous. Of course, with the media came the showmen, like Padilla, but even his involvement, the bond, helped the case along by exposing Casey more to LE and us. I would say that the media even brought out Tim Miller’s help.
All missing person cases are horrific, but it’s difficult when nothing can be learned about the progress of a case.
It was easy to get emotionally invested in this Case from Day one and I did like so many others.
It was unbelievable after 3 Years and All the Evidence the State brought forward, which led straight to Casey Anthony as the Person responsible for Caylee’s Death to hear the Verdict Not Guilty of any thing except lying.
I was stunned.
Did those Jurors follow the same Trial we all did? I wondered.
Linda Burdick’s Statement in Closing Argument was so true, she was afraid Common Sense would get lost in the midst of All the theatrics in this Trial.
The Jurors couldn’t/wouldn’t connect the Dots and use common Sense or for that matter, take the time it took to really examine All the Evidence and ask Questions if needed.
The Evidence was provided to them, all they had to do is use common Sense and not fall for the fictional Statements and outright Lies the Defense made, which had nothing to do with the Truth.
I also read Jeff Ashton’s Book, it was interesting to read his Side of what happened in this Trial.
I am inclined to believe Mr. Ashton to be a honest Person and straight forward in what he believes happened in this Case.
I agree with him that Casey Anthony did kill her own Daughter Caylee and got away with it. I also agree with him and believe in Karma which will even out the Justice Scale in time.
Till then I will go on with my Life and refrain from buying any one else’s Book about this Case. Not interested any more.
I promise myself I will never again get that emotionally involved in a Case for that long of a Period of time and than see the Imperfect Justice play out right in front of our Eyes. Sad, that’s all I can say.
The Reality is this was not the first and won’t be the last time Justice will be imperfect and most likely another Perpetrator will walk free for one Reason or another.
One good thing about all this, Casey Anthony will never have the Bella Vita she wanted so much and sacrificed her own Daughter for. She will have to live with what she has done for the Rest of her Life.
Jeff Ashton’s Book is dedicated to the Victim ” For Caylee, so that no one forgets!”
The book blasts the defense and the jury because they are jealous that the prosecution failed so miserably in their attempt to murder (by lethal injection) someone who simply lied a few times. Justice was properly served in that case.
Casey Anthony is someone who will forever go down in history as one of the sickest people for me. As a mother I can’t imagine having something happen to my child and not do anything to stop it. In fact do anything that would endanger helping my child.
Fabulous. I agree.