Murder-acquitted mom walks free from jail amid protests
Source: Agencies |
July 18, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CASEY Anthony was freed from a Florida jail early yesterday, 12 days after she was acquitted of murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee in a verdict that drew furious responses and even threats from people across the US who had followed the case with rapt attention.
Wearing a pink Polo T-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers, Anthony left the jail at 12:14am local time with her attorney, Jose Baez. Her hair in a bun, a somber-looking Anthony quietly said "thank you" to a deputy sheriff waiting to escort her outside, and then she and Baez quickly strode to a waiting car as two deputies armed with semi-automatic rifles walked behind. Baez held the back door, she climbed in and the vehicle drove away amid camera light flashes.
It was all over in seconds, and neither she nor Baez said anything to reporters and protesters waiting outside.
News helicopters followed the car to a covered parking garage at a downtown office building. But the car never re-emerged, and it could not be seen if Anthony was in any of the cars that appeared in the area.
Jail account cash
After three years behind bars, Anthony was given US$537.68 in cash from her jail account.
"It is my hope that Casey Anthony can receive the counseling and treatment she needs to move forward with the rest of her life," Baez said in a statement released to reporters.
Baez and jail officials declined to say where Anthony was headed.
"This release had an unusual amount of security so, therefore, in that sense, it would not be a normal release," Orange County Jail spokesman Allen Moore said. "We have made every effort to not provide any special treatment for her. She's been treated like every other inmate."
Moore said there were no threats received at the jail. Officials had a number of contingency plans in place, including plans in case shots were fired as she was being released.
As midnight approached, more than 100 spectators had gathered outside the jail's booking and release center, where plastic orange barricades had been erected. The crowd included about a half-dozen, sign-carrying protesters who had gathered despite a drenching thunderstorm earlier. Onlookers had varied reactions to her release from the jail, where seven or eight deputies in bulletproof vests patrolled the area. At least one officer carried an assault weapon and about five officers patrolled on horseback.
"She is safer in jail than she is out here," said Mike Quiroz, who drove from Miami to spend his 22nd birthday outside the jail. "She better watch her butt. She is known all over the world."
Lamar Jordan said he felt a pit in his stomach when he saw Anthony walking free.
"The fact that she is being let out, the fact that it is her child and she didn't say what happened, made me sick," Jordan said.
Not all of those who gathered condemned the 25-year-old. "I'm for Casey," said Kizzy Smith, of Orlando. "She was proven innocent. At the end of the day, Caylee is at peace. We're the ones who are in an uproar."
Since her acquittal on murder charges on July 5, Anthony had been finishing her four-year sentence for telling investigators several lies, including an early claim that Caylee was kidnapped by a nonexistent nanny. With credit for the nearly three years she had spent in jail since August 2008 and good behavior, she had only days remaining when she was sentenced on July 7.
The case drew national attention ever since Caylee was reported missing. Vitriol poured into social networking sites after the acquittal, with observers posting angry messages on Twitter and Facebook's "I Hate Casey Anthony" page.
Outraged lawmakers in several states responded by proposing so-called Caylee's laws that would allow authorities to prosecute parents who don't quickly report missing children. And many still speculate about what really happened to Caylee: Was she suffocated with duct tape by her mother, as prosecutors argued? Or did she drown in an accident that snowballed out of control, as defense attorneys contended?
Caylee's remains were found in December 2008 in woods near the home Casey Anthony shared with her parents.
Now that she is free, it's not clear where Anthony will stay or what she will do next.
Her relationship with her parents, George and Cindy, has been strained since defense attorneys accused George Anthony of molesting Casey when she was young. Baez argued during trial that the alleged abuse resulted in psychological issues that caused her to lie and act without apparent remorse after Caylee's death.
Wearing a pink Polo T-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers, Anthony left the jail at 12:14am local time with her attorney, Jose Baez. Her hair in a bun, a somber-looking Anthony quietly said "thank you" to a deputy sheriff waiting to escort her outside, and then she and Baez quickly strode to a waiting car as two deputies armed with semi-automatic rifles walked behind. Baez held the back door, she climbed in and the vehicle drove away amid camera light flashes.
It was all over in seconds, and neither she nor Baez said anything to reporters and protesters waiting outside.
News helicopters followed the car to a covered parking garage at a downtown office building. But the car never re-emerged, and it could not be seen if Anthony was in any of the cars that appeared in the area.
Jail account cash
After three years behind bars, Anthony was given US$537.68 in cash from her jail account.
"It is my hope that Casey Anthony can receive the counseling and treatment she needs to move forward with the rest of her life," Baez said in a statement released to reporters.
Baez and jail officials declined to say where Anthony was headed.
"This release had an unusual amount of security so, therefore, in that sense, it would not be a normal release," Orange County Jail spokesman Allen Moore said. "We have made every effort to not provide any special treatment for her. She's been treated like every other inmate."
Moore said there were no threats received at the jail. Officials had a number of contingency plans in place, including plans in case shots were fired as she was being released.
As midnight approached, more than 100 spectators had gathered outside the jail's booking and release center, where plastic orange barricades had been erected. The crowd included about a half-dozen, sign-carrying protesters who had gathered despite a drenching thunderstorm earlier. Onlookers had varied reactions to her release from the jail, where seven or eight deputies in bulletproof vests patrolled the area. At least one officer carried an assault weapon and about five officers patrolled on horseback.
"She is safer in jail than she is out here," said Mike Quiroz, who drove from Miami to spend his 22nd birthday outside the jail. "She better watch her butt. She is known all over the world."
Lamar Jordan said he felt a pit in his stomach when he saw Anthony walking free.
"The fact that she is being let out, the fact that it is her child and she didn't say what happened, made me sick," Jordan said.
Not all of those who gathered condemned the 25-year-old. "I'm for Casey," said Kizzy Smith, of Orlando. "She was proven innocent. At the end of the day, Caylee is at peace. We're the ones who are in an uproar."
Since her acquittal on murder charges on July 5, Anthony had been finishing her four-year sentence for telling investigators several lies, including an early claim that Caylee was kidnapped by a nonexistent nanny. With credit for the nearly three years she had spent in jail since August 2008 and good behavior, she had only days remaining when she was sentenced on July 7.
The case drew national attention ever since Caylee was reported missing. Vitriol poured into social networking sites after the acquittal, with observers posting angry messages on Twitter and Facebook's "I Hate Casey Anthony" page.
Outraged lawmakers in several states responded by proposing so-called Caylee's laws that would allow authorities to prosecute parents who don't quickly report missing children. And many still speculate about what really happened to Caylee: Was she suffocated with duct tape by her mother, as prosecutors argued? Or did she drown in an accident that snowballed out of control, as defense attorneys contended?
Caylee's remains were found in December 2008 in woods near the home Casey Anthony shared with her parents.
Now that she is free, it's not clear where Anthony will stay or what she will do next.
Her relationship with her parents, George and Cindy, has been strained since defense attorneys accused George Anthony of molesting Casey when she was young. Baez argued during trial that the alleged abuse resulted in psychological issues that caused her to lie and act without apparent remorse after Caylee's death.
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