"That witch killed her kid, she's gotta die."
And this is how people get both longer sentences than they truly deserve and how some guilty are allowed to go free. With Casey Anthony, the prosecution 'thought' they could prove murder one, and because of that mistake, someone responsible for the death of her own child, will end up spending less than 5 years in prison.
Casey is now protected by double jeopardy, and can not be retried on lesser charges, for the same crime.
The problem of course is our appetite for revenge. A child is dead, and the mother had something to do with it. After that story hits the news, constituents start screaming for blood. Rather than follow where the evidence leads, prosecutors here allowed screaming mob obnoxious talk show hosts to set the agenda. Had the prosecutor went with a less charge, he would have been accused of being soft on crime. In the end, we are still Rome, and those in attendance at the Colosseum, still want blood for blood.
In this instance justice was served because jurors were unable or unwilling to arrive at the prosecutors' position. Believe it or not, the worse outcome would have been a finding of guilt, without a reasonable doubt. Now, conservatives are all up in arms, because a child killer will end up walking after merely a few more months behind bars.
If only prosecutors weren't elected based on their 'perceived' stance on crime... If only talk show hosts didn't whip listeners and viewers into frothing frenzies, over allegations and accusations, but merely reported on JURY's 'findings'... If ONLY the media treated people like 'innocent' civilians, UNTIL they are found guilty in a court of law.
If only...
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