Despite Strong Feelings, Casey Anthony Jurors Stuck to Facts

COMMENTARY | The Casey Anthony verdict seemed to make everyone mad and frustrated. In fact, the jurors seemed to be the only ones who thought Anthony wasn't guilty, judging by the media outrage. To hear Nancy Grace and Bill O'Reilly state it, the jurors were out of their minds not to agree with them and everyone else who wanted Anthony to pay for her daughter's death. However, it seems that even the jury was sick about the case after all.

Juror No. 3, Jennifer Ford, went so far as to tell ABC News that she and others were "sick to our stomachs" after the verdict. In fact, she even said that many members of the jury cried, but they had no choice but to vote Anthony not guilty due to lack of evidence.

For all of the backlash over the verdict, most could agree that the prosecution didn't deliver a strong case. By that alone, Anthony had to be declared not guilty, although it is clear that the jury hardly considered her innocent. They seemed to be the only 12 people in America who were willing to label her innocent, yet if they even believe she did it, it makes a few powerful statements.

Part of the reason everyone is against Anthony is because Grace, and much of the media, has helped make it so. Of course, Anthony's own questionable actions and past lies made it far too easy for them, turning her into an easy-to-demonize figure. Even the jurors who acquitted Anthony didn't like her, but they didn't have to like her to find her not guilty.

That may actually speak to the strength of the jury system, as the jurors put their dislike of Anthony aside to deliver a fair verdict -- at least fair according to the facts of the trial. The triers of fact didn't ignore the reasonable doubt and loopholes left open by the prosecution's case, although the likes of Grace would have preferred they did.

Nevertheless, even though Anthony has been found not guilty of killing her daughter, the suspicion that she did and got away with it will never go away. The fury against her is just too great by now, even extending to those who acquitted her, although they were the only ones who didn't let it cloud their judgment.

That outrage may not go away anytime soon, especially with Thursday's breaking news from the Associated Press. Although Anthony was sentenced to four years for lying to cops, she could go free in weeks since she already served three years in jail. As such, she'll have to hope that the outside world has found other things to be mad about by next month.

Sources

ABC News- "Casey Anthony Jury: Sick to Our Stomachs Over Not Guilty Verdict"

Yahoo News- "Casey Anthony to be freed late July or early Aug."