Casey Anthony Sentence: Florida Mom Could Be Released In Late July

ORLANDO, Fla, (Reuters) - A Florida judge Thursday sentenced Casey Anthony to four years in jail for lying to police, but said after credit for the nearly three years she already served she could be out of jail by late this month or early August.

Casey, 25, was acquitted Tuesday of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee in 2008 but was convicted of four misdemeanor counts for lying to police during the investigation.

Each of the counts carried a maximum possible sentence of one year in jail.

(Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Jerry Norton)

Comments

[CAD CAD]

09:03 PM on 07/10/2011

Regarding what rreggaeredkc said: Many jurors from times past convicted people on circumstantial evidence. Plenty of which there was for this case. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck....................ITS A DUCK!!!!
Regarding things said about the family.....I believe a a therapist on one of the news shows said. This was probably a nice balanced every day nice family til their daughter acted up and started causeing trouble in the family. Next thing you know everyone is out of control.
How would you like for George to talk to his daughter to make him just a regular guy? How would you like for her mother to talk to her to make her just a regular mother?
No one is perfect and there's always going to be times when we've said mean things to each other....even in front of others that shouldn't really see it. As Abraham Lincoln once said: u can make some of the people happy all of the time. And all of the people happy some of the time. But you will never make all of them happy all the time.
The last person in the car was Casey. The last person with the child was Casey. THe last one to see the child was Casey.

[CAD CAD]

07:29 PM on 07/10/2011

This whole ordeal is shocking!!!!! The defense atty's in my eyes.....were the goofiest people I've ever met. Weird. Goofy. Screwy ideas. No proof of anything they ever accused another of. But, so quick to accuse others of doing the same thing to Casey. Throwing the finger, high fiving in the restaurant, cheering and jumping up and down over getting a murderer off. It's a wonder their wives even like them.
As much, if not more, circumstantial evidence as Scott Peterson had.....but "not guilty" for Casey.
To me, it looks as if the jury was tired. They took no notes and acted like they didn't want to be there. They sometimes seemed disinterested. And wanted it over with. Someone in the jury influenced them all to do this and the quicker the better so they could all go home.
Was the mentality of all these jurors checked out first before they were allowed to be jurors?
I suspect Casey will be back in jail (if someone hasn't gone and taken the law into their own hands with her first) for some other crime she's pulled over her years out out now.
What a sad sad state of affairs when the US people allow someone who obviously murdered her child to run free.
Lets see if anyone at all in the police agency now seeks to find who killed this little girl. I suspect not. As we already know who did it.

[IamYourDrillThrall]

10:07 AM on 07/10/2011

Wow. Just finished reading the letters that George and Cindy sent to Casey in prison. Anyone following this case should take a look: http://media.trb.com/media/acrobat/2010-06/54572752.pdf

George's letters are hyper-emotionaly and a bit creepy. He focuses on his personal relationship with Casey, talking about how much he 'needs to see her, be with her, look into her eyes.; Could just be the anguished grievings of a man who is having a breakdown, but to me, they were a bit creepy.

Cindy's letters show a stronger person; she is convinced Casey was framed, even doubts Caylee is dead, wants to chase down every lead, and talks about Zanny the Nanny as a real person. She also points the finger at Casey's ex-boyfriends.

It is also glaringly obvious from the letters that Casey wants nothing to do with them (except take the money they put in her jail account every month; she has no problem accepting their monetary help.) She refuses to see them, not even for a minute, won't write to them, even returns some of their letters.

What a strange and bizarre family. I do not know what to think.

[dbrett480]

08:22 PM on 07/09/2011

She should call OJ for golf tips and lessons on finding the "real killer."

[Susan Shaffer]

05:47 PM on 07/08/2011

For all the mothers who would immediately contact police if their child was missing for 5 minutes can you please talk to the posters who said as kids they would be gone all day and the parents never worried.
What makes the super vigilant think they are better? Being a helicopter mother doesn't create better adjusted kids.
I am sick of reading the holier than thou comments from women who from my perspective have some serious psychiatric issues.

[IamYourDrillThrall]

10:13 AM on 07/10/2011

Hey Susan: Its a different world than in was when I was a kid. I lived in a close-knit neighborhood, and no one drove down the street that didn't live there. Our moms threw us all out of the house when it was sunny and beautiful out, EARLY in the morning, and we would play all day until the streetlamps came on. Certain moms had whistles and they would blow them when they wanted their kids to come back to the house...we knew which mom's 'whistle signal'....this one had a mother that would blow three short bursts, one had a mom whose whistle sounded like a siren, and so on.

Once in a while, someone would go missing. It would be 5 pm and someone's kid wouldn't show up back at home for dinner. This happened almost weekly. The whole neighborhood would turn out, and search for whomever. Once it was my little brother....we found him, asleep, UNDER someone's bed. He as playing hide and seek, and while waiting to be found, fell asleep.

I dont think the 'super vigilant' are better than anyone else, but this IS a very different world than it used to be. I think it depends on where you live, and the situation. If I were in NYC for a day of shopping, and my child wandered off, I"d be frantic. But a neighborhood plat, on a cul-de-sac, where everyone knows everyone? A bit different.

[tgshort]

04:18 AM on 07/08/2011

Wait a minute she lived with her parents right? She could have pawned Casey off at any time on them could she not? Trying to establish Caseys motive in my mind but cant! But some one must pay right? Might be they already are I am sure it is bothering Casey's Mom and Dad anyway! Bottom line we dont know! If you say you do you are kidding yourself! The Jury did the job they were supposed to do! Point your fingers if it makes a difference! Go buy her book those saying they wont will just borrow a copy and read it anyway! Am I provocative or drunk right now you decide! yee freaking haw! Hell I am curious arent you?

[Vlawyer]

04:21 PM on 07/08/2011

Hi there:

I was actually going to post a comment very like yours, maybe adding that it's "no longer cool to lynch Casey." I think you're the only person besides me who thinks the jury did what was right!

You are not provocative. You are an independent thinker and an honest communicator.

And, yes, I think you were tippling at the computer. I was too last night. I probably will be again before too long.

You are awsome!

[ssbbx1]

04:42 PM on 07/09/2011

You are drunk!

[Mike in San Pedro]

11:06 PM on 07/07/2011

Casey to write the sequel to OJ's "If I Did It."

[Dougv]

08:10 PM on 07/07/2011

Casey has been in jail for 2.8 years, and it is paaaaaaarty time for Casey. She is a bit behind on the latest in what is fly and dope, along with what is cool and bad. Casey now has street cred for being a bad girl, and party girl. Now she can go back to pursuing being a party queen. Maybe she can hook up with the night club owner she had her eyes on before she became a national figure for killing her daughter. Casey has the street cred that will propel her new heights on the party scene. Casey will now be in the league with Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan. Casey is a piece of $#!^.

[Susan Shaffer]

05:11 PM on 07/08/2011

I think you will find after the last few years in custody that she might be a different person.
Just watching the judgement read out the other day you could see her trembling.
The muscles on her forehead were tense.
This girl has been a bundle of adrenaline for quite some time and I think the best thing for her will be time in a quiet and private place.
After going through such an experience she will find the people she used to associate as immature. Quite a few of those friends testified against her.

[IamYourDrillThrall]

10:23 AM on 07/10/2011

The Orlando Sentinel has a ton of info on it that I wasn't aware of. One of things I guess I shouldn't be surprised about is that Casey got a fair number of letters from people who supported her. I don't understand these folks...I mean, you don't know this person...why would you write a letter to a woman in prison, charged with murdering her toddler? In any case, there are people out there who believed in her innocence...100%

Reading thru the jailhouse correspondence, I get the feeling there are part so this tragedy that were never revealed to the public. Cindy, in particular, maintained Casey's innocence and believes firmly she was 'framed'...a stark contrast to the woman we all saw, calling the police and claiming her daughter's car 'smelled like a dead body.'

We also read about Casey and Cindy's strained relationship; that she criticized Casey and had a fight in which she choked her. Read the letters; all you see if a mother who praises her daughter constantly...calls her the 'light of their lives'.

I think Casey is going to find re-entry very, very difficult. She has been cloistered for almost 3 years now...and for most of that time, she has completely shunned her parents. I think they will DEFINITELY offer to take her back, but I'm not sure she will go.

Cindy discusses, in her letters to Casey, moving the family to a small town in NC.

[IamYourDrillThrall]

10:27 AM on 07/10/2011

cont (Pt II)
George talks to Casey in a manner that makes me uncomfortable. Maybe this is just the nature of their relationship, but I cannot see any peace in that house if she comes back to live their. Didn't one boyfriend (Jesse G?) say that their household was 'icy' and 'strained'?

Your post is spot on, Susan. Problem is, Casey is going to need to support herself. The tabloids (Nat'l Enquirer, etc) will most definitely offer her money. She should take it, as horrible as that is (beggars can't be choosers) and go off someplace rural and quiet, as you say...her life has had a laser spotlight on it for 3 years now.

I wouldn't be surprised if she got very sick. Stress is a powerful thing, and unrelenting stress on the body can do awful things to your health.

Time will tell.

[travelking]

07:58 PM on 07/07/2011

She stands to make millions off of her life story. Wow, what example will this set for other young parent who can't stand being a parent. Just dump the kid in the swamp and "boom" , you are a millionaire.

[USA Radical]

07:43 PM on 07/07/2011

lucky she isnt in tx
they are meaner down here
i still think shes guilty
between the g00gle searches and trunk m@gg0ts....nuffs said
i feel bad for the baby

[Susan Shaffer]

06:13 PM on 07/10/2011

I think the baby was in the trunk sometime between june 25-27 but if you read my other posts I think you will find that she did not act alone and that it was an accident.
read up on decomp and how messy it is and then rigor mortis sets in. There is no way she put caylee in the trunk so she could party. That trunk would have been much worse condition.
Also there was nothing in the wheel storage area related to decomp and no blood either. I think she was bundled up pretty soon after death. Who would think to wrap the body twice in a plastic bag and then canvas? I do believe George was involved and then you have to wonder why he wouldn't call the police.

[Martampa]

07:17 PM on 07/07/2011

One can only hope that she will be looking over her shoulder every day.

[Tansey]

06:23 PM on 07/07/2011

There needs to be a new, federal law passed that states if you know your child is missing and you don't report it within 36 hours then you're charged with felony child neglect. The law should be called "Caylee's Law". Anyone found guilty should be sentenced to no less than 3 years and no more than 10 years in a federal prison and be forced to take parenting classes both inside and once out of prison. They should also be subject to random, unannounced CPS visits until all of their children are 18 years old (if the courts don't remove their children form them, that is).

[Martampa]

07:18 PM on 07/07/2011

Great idea regarding "Caylee's Law."

[mndypandy225]

08:09 PM on 07/07/2011

That is THE most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard to be a "law." 3 yrs in prison for not reporting a missing kid within 36 hours? No one'll care if somebody reports their kid 2 days after theyre gone.

[Tansey]

03:08 AM on 07/08/2011

Actually, from what I heard earlier tonight, lawmakers are already considering making a "Caylee's Law" which will, in fact, make it a crime to not report it if you know your child is missing. I don't know what the proposed punishment would be, but obviously our lawmakers don't think it's so "ridiculous." And if you're suggesting my opinion on sentencing is "ridiculous", I'll have to respectfully disagree. Harsh punishment = people may be more reluctant to cover for someone and/or the punishment could be added to someone's prison time if they're involved in a child's disappearance.

Obviously we need something to be done to make people think twice before hurting a child and harsher punishments are the only thing I can think of since nothing else seems to be working.

[rreggaeredkc]

05:38 PM on 07/07/2011

My first comment is that for those condemning the jury, under the letter of the law, this jury was placed in a situation that the prosecution could not prove how this happened or where it happened. They had no choice! This is misguided anger. Also, I keep wondering about George. He denies ever abusing Casey yet when you look at her pictures, they are all sexual! Classic symptom of sexual abuse as a child. And, when considering this, what it George was involved and did something to Caley and like the prosecution said, she was around the age where she could start conversations? Please direct your anger towards what you can prove in a court of law. I absolutely believe in justice for Caley. I wish someone would be able to provide concrete evidence in a court of law. Of course that would be double jeopardy. How about calling your Congressman and women and focus on "repairing" the law??

[Martampa]

07:19 PM on 07/07/2011

Does anyone really think that the judicial system in this country is fair?

[FSM57]

08:37 PM on 07/07/2011

The Jury members were the only ones that could bring justice to this situation....and they chose not to do so. People can, and have been, convicted of crimes when cause of death was unknown...location of death was unknown and a body was never located. And to speculate that George Anthony molested his daughter and then started in on his granddaughter would make you gulity of "condeming" the grandfather and showing "misguided anger".

[rreggaeredkc]

05:22 PM on 07/08/2011

AcI don't recall any indication of anger towards George. How can you convict someone of murder when the only PROOF is that little Cayley was dead? Nor did I indicate that I didn't think Casey did it. All I can say is I think the jury had no choice after instructions for the judge. My thought on George was merely a question. And so...from your comment I would assume I made you mad. Who's the one who is really mad and directing it everywhere except to the true source? I respectfully disagree.

[griffindonna45]

04:16 PM on 07/07/2011

First like to say that I am not disputing the verdict nor the sentencing, but I would like someone to clear something up for me. She is being credited with time served, so what does a person who is cleared completely of charges and found completely innocent credited with. Seems like an innocent person and a quilty person could basically serve the same sentence.

[IamYourDrillThrall]

10:43 AM on 07/10/2011

I think you are confused. She was NOT "cleared completely of charges" and "found completely innocent"

Did you even read the story?

There were 7 charges; she was found 'not guilty' of the first 3, which had to do with murder and aggravated child abuse. The last four, giving false information to law enforcement, she was found GUILTY of. She received the maximum sentence for those 4 charges; a year EACH, or FOUR years of prison time. She has served almost 3, and then there is time off for good behavior. Casey was a model prisoner (hard not to be; she was isolated and alone for 23 hours a day...I'm surprised she didn't try and kill herself.)

There is a formula that the court uses, and when they applied it to her, she only had a handful of days left to serve. She should be released on Sunday, July 17th, but I think it will be done at night, under heavy police protection.

A lot of people have expressed a desire to exact revenge on her...while I DO think she is guilty, I don't think additional violence is warranted. (Actually, I NEVER think violence is warranted...I"m essentially a peace-nik.)

[shotgunjohnny]

03:03 PM on 07/07/2011

let's see: 4 years - 3 years = 1 month? Seems they need some new judges over in Florida.

[meanlady21]

02:16 AM on 07/08/2011

She gets time off for good benavior. which amount to only serving 80% of her sentence.