CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin calls the four-year sentence Judge Belvin Perry slapped on Casey Anthony a surprise but says the judge likely was making a statement in giving her the maximum jail time.
Perry on Thursday sentenced Anthony to one year behind bars on each of four counts of lying to police concerning the death of her daughter, Caylee. She also was fined $1,000 for each count.
“Most people convicted of misdemeanors do not get prison time in Florida or anywhere else," Toobin says.
Despite the sentence, Anthony won't spend much more time incarcerated. She got credit for the time spent in custody since her arrest, almost 1,000 days.
Before the court gave Anthony's official release date, Toobin speculated that she could be free in less than two months once credit for good behavior also was considered. But it appears Anthony got a bigger break - she'll be out in a less than a week. A court spokeswoman said her release date would be Wednesday.
Anthony has served about three years already. And it seems, Toobin said, the judge was intent on making sure some kind of punishment had been handed down in the case.
"This judge was clearly appalled at the nature and content of the lies Casey Anthony told to the police," he says. "We are all reminded about just how sinister and awful these comments were."
Authorities said Anthony lied about whether her daughter was missing. Her other lies included claims that Caylee was in a nanny's custody, that she had a job at Universal Studios and that she had received a phone call from Caylee.
Toobin said that while Anthony's criminal law troubles may be over, she could be involved in civil litigation much longer.
Zenaida Gonzalez has filed a defamation lawsuit against Anthony. Authorities questioned Gonzalez in Caylee's disappearance after Anthony said a nanny by that woman's name had kidnapped the child. Gonzalez denied ever meeting Anthony.
Florida officials also are asking that Anthony repay the state for the enormous cost of investigating the case. A private firm that helped in the child's search wants its money back, too.
Lawsuits could linger for years, Toobin says, but he doubts they'll have much effect.
"I will be surprised if Casey Anthony ever ends up paying anyone," he says.
How blind can jurors be it makes me sick...
I love how you people think posting online is anonymous. If I were her (which thankfully I am not), I'd hire students to screenshot every last one of your slanderers and sue the absolutely crap outta everyone here. She could be richer than Bill Gates with the comments posted here.
You, Joe appear to be ignorant! Sue me.
sue people over their opinions posted online...right I'm sure she'll make millions; you're such a moron
Ryan try reading up on defamation, that's exactly what it is. Beezer, if you're not scared, why not put something in I could so over, instead of being a baby and putting "appear".
Joe is a moron and probably tortures puppies... Sue me too
Hence I said OPINION Joe, try reading an entire post before looking like an idiot.
@PB Brantley
Again, another baby that wants to put something in, but realizes they'd be sued if they did. Surprise, internet 'tough guys' too scared to make a comment.
This is why people sue for absolutely nothing at all. Let the little girl rest in peace. The jurors did their job and this is how the US justice system works and that's why I live in Mexico.......
Since the comments are printed, it's technically libel in a legal definition but also fails to fit that as the comments are not stated or implied to be factual. These are obviously personal opinions and protected by the First Amendment.
Sue me as well stupidass!
You are a retarded loser Joe, hahahahahaha
Joe you are such a little nat on the butt of life. Why don't you use your mad "hacking skills" and come get me. You are so pathetic. Come on now, show me your skills. You don't have any.
If you kill your daughter in Texas, why would people from Utah get to be on the jury? It should be a jury from your community!
Beezer, whatever you "think", it is common in high profile cases to go out of the community in order to form an unprejudiced jury. Have you ever taken a civics course? Give it a try or stop touting your beliefs.
That's the absolute last thing you want – tainted juries don't tend to deliver impartial decisions.
Everyone in her community would be furious with her and therefore would not be an impartial jury. Think about this, then read a book or website on the subject.
She should have been charged with five lies. l. Whether her daughter was missing. 2. Caylee being cared for by a nanny. 3. Her non-job at Universal Studios. 4. A phone call from Caylee. and 5th The lie of giving the police the name of a woman whose name she stole and named her the person who kidnapped Caylee. She caused this poor woman to lose her job and her apt. she lived in at the time.
None of that proves she killed the child.
Oh, nice reading comprehension, Daniel. Your comment does not even relate to Carol's comment whatsoever. You have just blurted out something that is on your mind without even understanding the comment you are replying to. This is an example of just how dumb many people are. It makes me frustrated.
She didnt say anything about killing a child. She said there were 5 lies.
Setting aside guilt or innocence or whether the jury got it right or not,can someone answer a question? The person was jailed for a full 3 years –then found not guilty. I understand it took a long time with prosecutors and defense delaying along the way. However,am I understanding this? Someone gets locked up and a long time passes and they are found not guilty and are then just supposed to resume life as normal. Does the state just say" woops,sorry about that " .What does the state owe the erroneously accused ? ( Again–forget it was her--this is a general question. )
She was charged with other things that she was sentenced jail time for... so no "sorry" for her.
The state is required to provide any 'reasonable' protection for her since she was acquitted.. It could end up costing FL taxpayers are great deal of money.
I'm fairly certain (but have NO legal background) that you are jailed for an offense and have the right to ask for release on bail. The judge can deny that bail (which I believe is usually the case in a murder trial.) Then if you're found not guilty you've lost ALL that time behind bars. Think about all the people that are found not guilty years after being jailed for a crime they didn't commit- they've lost their lives, practically.
I dunno, it seems like a flaw, but a necessary one.
Remember she got 4 years for 4 lies...minus 3 years in jail already (and not counting the check fraud here)
is 1 year left and as a courtesy she gets that off for good behaviur.....the cost to the taxpayer, which actually could have bet on a better verdict if not obstructed by lies and therefore decomposition of the body, are extreme......there should be a class action lawsuit by taxpayers to get the money back!!
She wasn't erroneously jailed. She was convicted of 4 counts of lying to police. Each of those carried a 1-year sentence, and she has only been in jail 3 years.
Ever notice how these self righteous right wingers only "love" America when the system does things the way they want?
Kid with 2 first names,
What does any of this have to do with politics? You're a moron. Please don't vote.
Signed,
One of the few non-retarded people in this country.
This is what white girls are thought to do by their parents. Lie, Lie, Lie, Lie, Lie and STICK to them LIES and we will BACK you up. How many Black folks have gone to JAIL based on white woman's LIES and DECEIT and be released 20 – 40-yrs later? Credit to Casey Anthony for being this BOLD for her tiny body. Her parent raised her superbly well. She's NOW a confirmed TOP EXPERT on how to get way out of trouble and there is nothing the police could do about it. Her atty. also believed in those LIES tooooooooooooooo and that made it really amazing Superb. Only in America!
By their DEEDS ye shall know them!
ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?! Did you even read what you wrote before you posted it? you sound like a NUT!
Her attorney *must* act on the assumption she is being truthful – that's the system. If you don't like it, move to Syria.
YOU are an ignorant racist. Shame on you.
oh pllease, dont make this a racial issue....wth is wrong with people. RACIST MORON
Lay off the meth, yo.
THOUGHT OR TAUGHT RETARD.
The Clearwater 12 are the real criminals here. Letting a child murderer go free. Now they are trying to profit off the death of little Caylee by charging for interviews.
*Prosecutors charge for interviews as well. Marcia Clark, Chris Darden, made millions off book deals after they lost the OJ trial.
And when Anthony publishes her story, you'll be the first to line up to buy a copy and put money in her pocket.
What happened is the system worked. She was given a fair trial and a jury found her not guilty...they didn't find her innocent, just 'not proven'. You have to try and understand the jury did not have the same information that television 'juries' had, much of the material was considered too prejudicial, heresay, etc. The jury did their job, if we don't agree that is also our right, but we need to be reasonable.
The only reason the judge 'threw the book at her' is because he is an 'elected official'. This way he gets to blame the jury for the verdit the next time that he runs for office and can say 'my hands were tied. I gave her the max that the law allowed. the little b-ch'"
For any other person convicted a a misdeameanor he was have given a sentence of probabtion and 10 hours of community service.
I don't know if the lady killed the child or not. but just because she likes to party is no reason to hang her. The grandparents were more that happy to babysit the child, so you people can't claim, like the prosecution, that she murdered her child just to party. That makes no sense. She may have discovered the baby drowned, as she said and tried to cover it up, but you have NO PROOF that she 'murdered' this infant. How do you know that it wasn't Mr Kronk who put the tape on the skull in the woods? He was the only other person in the world who KNEW where the body was for 6 months (thanks to the police). Maybe the 'skull rolled out of the bag the 1st time that he found it and he put the tape on to keep the jawbone attached before he put it back in the bag.
Why isn't that more of a possibility than the mother 'murdering' the child? Remember – he's the one who told his family that he was going to get rich over this 6 months before the police finally actually did some investigating and found the bag just where he kept telling them where it was. Sounds awlfully fishy to me. More fishy that her story that the little girl drowned.!!!
And when are the feds going to file civil rights charges against her?
I would never defend this person. That said, it takes EVIDENCE to convict a person of murder. There was almost none presented to the jury. What were they supposed to do?
sanjosemike
AGREED
It's amazing how many people are demanding blood from Casey despite the lack of solid evidence. The jury weighed everything and could not justify returning with a guilty verdict on the capital offenses. How would all you feel if the roles were reversed and it was YOU behind the defendant's table?
It the US, it's innocent until proven guilty BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT. Of course if you all want to live in a place were you are guilty until proven innocent, by all means, pack your bags and head there.
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whether you agree with the outcome or not, the system worked (unlike in, say, OJ's trial).
This is the media's fault- honestly. There was SO much coverage and the public got all up in arms about the case without having the education or knowledge of the issues. All they saw was a pretty little girl and a mother who liked to party. They saw what they wanted to see and mob mentality got them sniffing and screaming for blood.
America's justice system didn't fail Caylee. They brought Casey to justice but she was found not guilty. The people of America have shown a disservice to Casey Anthony for assuming guilt.
She'll end up battered and murdered if she doesn't disappear.
Agreed. What many forget or haven't figured out, the jury was not provided the same information/evidence that the television jury heard. Much was considered too prejudicial, etc., to be presented. Too much reliance by the prosecution on some questionable science and even more questionable testimony from other witnesses. I think it might be a good idea to have a verdict like the British courts use, instead of 'not quilty' in cases where the jury doesn't believe they had enough evidence for quilty, but don't believe in complete innocence either...'not proven'.
And in all this mess and discussing what will happen to this monster going forward, who will pay what, what money she will make off of killing her daughter etc etc etc....it seems that getting any justice whatsoever for this poor baby girl whose life was stolen from her is a thing of the past and a distant memory. Nancy Grace was right ...the Devil is surely dancing today.
Anthony's criminal law troubles are NOT over... when she is released from prison, won't she begin her probation for the check fraud convictions that came before the murder trial? She won't be able to leave the state, or get drunk, or hang out and party all night. She'll have to check in with a probation officer and if she breaks any of the rules, she'll wind up back in jail.
Isn't that the case here? Has everyone forgot about that?
Wow