To say I’m speechless doesn’t even begin to cover it. So, I’ll just start with the
beginning of my day. We were in line at 7:30AM for our seat passes. Everyone was
excited to be there if the verdict came back today and nervous about only being
given a 30 minute time frame to return for the verdict. Security was greatly
heightened for the verdict days. The court knew that emotions ran high for this
tense trial that so many had invested time in.

We were lead up this morning to see those few minutes when the jury is greeted by
the court and sent back to deliberate. Quite a few of today’s spectators hadn’t been
to able to attend at all so they were excited to see the room and all the players.
As we left HHJPerry was in the outer area. One of the spectator’s yelled out “We
love you Judge Perry. My whole family loves you”. He just beamed from ear to ear. I
can’t think of a more charming man. Bill Sheaffer is a close tie.

Deputies came down to get those with seat passes in line to enter court about 1:29.
The hundreds of people that had gathered waiting to see ‘celebrity’ media or passes
for tomorrow let out a cheer that echoed thru the halls of the court property. You
would have thought that a major rock star was coming on stage. Everyone just knew
this was going to be a guilty verdict. They KNEW IT.

We were all led back thru security and into the court. George & Cindy where ushered
past us at 1:40. Cindy was crying and looked like she had been for most of the day.
George looked like he was going to be physically ill. He held a tissue to his mouth
and mostly sat apart from Cindy. Lost in his own world. No matter what the verdict
would be for casey, George was going to lose today. The gallery was a mix of
excitement and tears. So many of the people who came today were emotional. For
Caylee and the Anthonys. They’ve been invested in this case for a long time and it
was hard not to be emotional.

Lippmann sat with his clients giving them some last minute advice on what the
procedure would be. I don’t know how you can prepare someone for what the Anthonys
might hear. I guess you go over the charges and possible verdicts. What will happen
if this is the verdict. What will happen if that is.

Karen Levey was in the elevator going up with Tony Pipitone and I. She talked a
little about how glad the staff would be when this is over. They’ve been working
impossibly long hours under great stress. Tony made a joke about Karen running the
jury as efficiently as she ran the court. Even he was surprised at how quickly they
came back. Most people were saying they’d either come back immediately or it would
be several days. Thursday seemed to be the big winner in the pool. But when we knew
the jury was actually coming back today it really surprised.

The gallery and media where all in at 1:50. Everyone somber. Respectful of the dire
nature of what could happen here. I was a little taken back to see Mr. Mason and Ms
Frye at the defense table laughing and chatting. You would think they were waiting
for the verdict on a misdemeanor charge. Not a verdict for their client who faced
the death penalty. Ms Medina & Ms Simms were the only two that seemed concerned over
the possible penalty casey could face. Of course here I was being critical of their
behavior and my concern was that I was wearing one of my least favorite blouses.

Linda Drane Burdick, Jeff Ashton, Mr. George and others sitting with them were
chatting and smiling but with a little more respect for the court than the defense.
Baez must have been with casey because he didn’t come into court until just after
2:00. He was his usual smiling self looking around the gallery to see who had come
to see his big finish. Giving the Orlando Sentinel pool  photographer a big “I’m going to Disney World” grin.

I’m not sure what Lippmann said to the Anthonys about then but it caused George to
start crying softly. Crying that he didn’t recover from till after the verdict was
heard. Cindy tried yet again to make eye contact with casey but she never looked to
her parents. Not even today. George seemed to have found a nice, neutral spot on the
floor to stare at.

As soon as casey came into court she broke down. You could tell she had been trying
to hold it together but just couldn’t. Baez got on one knee and held her hand trying
to talk to her and soothe her. Mr. Mason also gave her a few brief words. Ms Simms
looked over at George & Cindy several times. Trying to give them some comfort that
they and casey couldn’t do on their own. After the verdict Ms Simms was the person
that casey wanted most to hold and be held by. Simms broke down completely and you
just knew that she had become not only casey’s supporter but most likely her
surrogate mother during the last year. If she didn’t believe casey was not guilty
you’d never know it by her reaction. That wasn’t the reaction of an attorney who’d
done their job and gotten their client off. That was the reaction of a person who
deeply cared for their client and was finally able to release their fear and let
their guard down.

For the Anthony’s that wait  once they heard the verdict was in, driving to court and waiting in the gallery had
to have been the longest, most painful hour of their lives.
There was a moment while we were all waiting for HHJPerry to come in that Baez and I
were looking around the court. We just happened to lock eyes. I wasn’t really sure
if he was looking at me or through me to the Sentinel reporter. We just looked at
each other for a second and I nodded my head and slightly smiled and then he did the
same. I guess it was our way of saying this has been a long time coming and it ends
here. There have been moments when I could have kicked Baez. There have been times
where I could see some charm and caring. After all he’s just another southern man.
And I know all about southern men. All their bluster and bravado. Charm and
redneckish good ole’ boy attitude. I’ve lived my whole life with them. So I know the
likes of Baez and Mason.

I didn’t see any juror look at casey when they came in. But I also remember being on
a few juries and we had all agreed to do that. I think you learn it from a movie or
something and it just kind of sticks with you. As a tell for the jury’s verdict it
doesn’t mean squat.

HHJPerry called for the verdict and for it to be published by the Court Clerk. Baez
and Ms Simms had to help casey to her feet and to keep her standing.
　
One by one she read the charges and the jury’s decision.
Count #1 Not Guilty
Count #2 Not Guilty
Count #3 Not Guilty
Count #4 Guilty
Count #5 Guilty
Count #6 Guilty
Count #7 Guilty

I think from the shock of hearing “Not Guilty” on all the most relevant
charges I just stopped listening. I’m sure most people listening did. Or they were
going to playback on their DVR thinking they’d heard wrong. It couldn’t be. What was
the jury smoking. NOT GUILTY!!! This is what we have to live with after all this
time. Makes me go back to one of my original statements about why this case became
the international media sensation it had. Florida’s Sunshine laws. Transparency in
government. How much did that cause the media hype? Is it time to revisit those
laws?
At least in capital crimes?

After the initial reaction to the verdict one of the first responses from Baez was
to grab casey’s hand… look up to the balcony at Geraldo and put an ear to ear shit
eating grin on his face. The man has gotten the ‘most hated woman in the world’ off
(basically) and he’s now going to be the most sought after attorney in the nation.
Hope he didn’t already sign a contract with TeleMundo cause his value just rose like
the gold rush of the 1800’S.

After the jury cleared out and the gallery was beginning to clear the entire defense team broke down. Casey was wailing in Ms. Sim’s arms. All the team were struggling to hug her and each other. Only Baez and
Mason weren’t crying. I’m sure the sound of a cash register rung in their ears while
they planned the spot to plant their money tree in the yard.

George and Cindy were quickly ushered out of the courtroom. Cindy looked pleased.
George looked sick. I’m sure they wanted the Hell out of Dodge before media and the
crowd could get to them. The crowd slowly walked outside like they were waiting for
the dream to end. People weren’t just upset. They weren’t just in tears. They were
screaming in anguish about the lack of justice they were witnessing. People were
crying and couldn’t understand why. They never expected to have that much of an
emotional response to the verdict. Instead of the cheers they all came down to the
courthouse to share today (knowing that casey would be convicted) they were in a
state of near panic. Caylee would never have justice and that her murderer would be
walking around town with them soon. It was as if (and I include myself) we had never
seriously considered that casey would walk from this. Not with a mere slap on the
wrist.

People even talked about it being so much  worse than the OJ verdict. He had bought that freedom. He had killed other adults in a passionate rage. But this was a child. A child that they felt had been
murdered by the one person that a child should never fear. Should never be in
jeopardy of. And yet casey walks. No one will ever pay for Caylee’s murder. And no
matter what the defense wants us all to believe. There wasn’t one person in that
group of hundreds that believed that child died of an accidental anything. Dr. G
was right in her opinion. You call 911 when your child dies. You run to your
neighbors with the baby in your arms for help. You don’t duct tape the face, throw
her in some bags and eventually throw her in the woods. EVER.

We were told that the jury would be involved in a press conference where 29
organizations would be able to ask questions in order that was drawn by lottery.
Media who didn’t make the lottery were allowed to give the court sealed envelopes
that were to be given to the jury. We all know now the jury never gave that press
conference today. Maybe one of those envelopes gave the jury a clue to just how big
this trial was. To just how profitable it could be for them. Or maybe they just
wanted to get out of town as quickly as possible after all these weeks away from
their homes and families. Either way, I’m sure we’ll see them eventually. I feel for
them and for what they’ll go thru over the next days and weeks. They may become the
“most hated jury” in the nation. We just need for them to explain. We need to
understand. But we’ll never know the story of Caylee’s life and death. That will
always be a mystery. Even if casey had been convicted it would have always just been assumptions.

There was a large crowd waiting downstairs. State Attorney Lawson Lamar and Orange
County Sheriff Demings gave a brief speech about how wonderful all the investigators
and attorney’s and staff were. How they were always about justice for Caylee. That
there were too many who got involved to further their fame and fortune. It made me
wonder if he had done some of the same. If the Death Penalty had gone too far. Could
they have convicted on a lesser manslaughter charge. They thrust this jury into one of the nation’s biggest crimes on mostly circumstantial evidence. We know so much more about casey and the story then the jury did. Did the State overreach. This will be the stuff of interviews, trial watchers, court show and legal classes for a
long time to come.

Cheney Mason showed what a complete and pompous ass he is by vilifying the
attorneys who were commenting on the case. Saying that he and all the other
attorneys in his profession were disgusted by these ‘talking heads’. By the way,
wasn’t Mr. Mason one of those talking heads before he signed on to “have some
fun”?? He then went on to bluster and gloat for a few minutes. I couldn’t hear what
all he was saying because my head was spinning and there’s a little bit of bile in
my throat bothering me. On the other hand….Baez gave a remarkably mature and
professional speech. Saying that this wasn’t a day to be happy. That all the
attorneys acted admirably. That it wasn’t a day for celebrating (well, at least not
until he walked the two blocks to Terrace 390). And that he only hoped that casey
could start rebuilding her life.

It looks like grasshopper has surpassed the master. And the old dog is going out like a fool. Maybe Baez bought some class with the $200K of casey’s money. Which by the way we’ve never seen a full accounting of. We know
it wasn’t spent on attorneys. Does casey have a small trust fund set aside so she
can now go stay at the Ritz until the first deal is brokered?

I was driving home. Bowled over. Trying to imagine what it was that we saw and the
jurors didn’t. How I could have read their body language so completely wrong. Then
it occurred to me. When they started ignoring Baez, I’d assumed (probably from my
projecting) they were already tuning him out. I can only assume that what happened
was they weren’t expecting anything from him and were more intent on what the State
had to say. Waiting for the State to prove to them that casey and casey alone was
responsible for the death of her daughter. As much as I tried to make myself neutral
I guess I just couldn’t get past all the evidence, all the media hype I’d heard over
the last 3 years. I saw a jury that was listening to the State hoping that it would
make their decision easy for them. They didn’t expect or want anything from the
defense. And they didn’t get what we needed them to. We now all have to go to bed
and make peace with the fact that  casey will soon be free.

Another thought occurred to me. The look on George’s face. How I’ve seen this man go
thru pain, grief, anger, resentment, outrage, love and then finally since Baez’s
opening statements a total demeanor of despair and betrayal. Nothing will ever be
the same for this man. The absolute joy of his life was snatched from under his
nose. He also realizes he might never know the truth of what happened to his granddaughter.

And I thought of the gun he bought. Of his suicide note. That George said he had an
idea who might be involved in Caylee’s death and that he bought the gun to force
that person to tell him the truth and he would get justice for Caylee and then join
her. I worry for this man after the trial. A man who’s reputation and family is
shredded beyond repair. I worry because although I think his cause has been Caylee,

Cindy’s cause has always been casey. I worry that Lee not being there today says

he’s done what he had to and is washing his hands  of the whole mess. And only Cindy will be there for George. I hope he doesn’t still have that gun and that someone in their lives knows that this is a man who feels he
hasn’t got anything to lose. And he still wants answers.

Ashton seems to have established a semblance of a relationship and respect for George. He needs to spend
his next few days before retirement making sure that George is alright and that
someone is looking after him. My son thinks I’m completely wrong about George. That
he is guilty and did most of what the defense accuses him of. If so, then I guess
I’m a fool again. Going into this I had convicted ALL the Anthonys. I was sure
they were all complicit in Caylee’s death or the cover up. But as I sat month
after month with them something changed. Slowly, but it did. I saw their humanity.
I felt their grief. I understood their dilemma. I didn’t agree with their actions.
But if that is a man who could molest and do what casey says he did. Then I’m the worst judge of character ever.

I never saw Cindy talk about Caylee. It was always about her and casey. But I did see George try,
maybe for the first time in his life, to stand up to his family and do right. And
it came back to bite him. Badly. Is it his Karma? Maybe.

I’m planning on attending the sentencing hearing Thursday. Most attorney’s are
saying casey will walk out of court a free women that day. Some say she might get
another six months. Either way, I’ve got to find a way to get this trash heap of
almost Encyclopedic knowledge of the case out of my brain. I made a commitment to
see this thru and Thursday will be the culmination of 3 years involvement in the
Anthonys’ tragedy and our State’s biggest international criminal case to date. I
guess for Linda and Frank and their staff, they’ve got other trials they’ll dive into
tomorrow.

Peace
Magpie