Burden of proof: Comparing the Casey Anthony and sweat lodge cases - CNN

July 15, 2011
Burden of proof: Comparing the Casey Anthony and sweat lodge cases
Posted: 08:35 AM ET

Excerpt:

Atlanta, GA – Last week, in a courtroom in Orlando, Florida, virtually the entire world witnessed an extraordinary example of the American judicial system in action. They saw first-hand the beyond a reasonable doubt burden of proof a jury must, and did, place upon a prosecution team. And, what was unarguably overwhelming circumstantial evidence, meticulously gathered and handled by top investigators, proved to be inadequate to persuade six men and six women that Casey Anthony was responsible for her daughter’s death.

Nevertheless, this jury did exactly what they were charged to do. They maintained Anthony’s innocence throughout and based their decision entirely upon the quality of evidence presented by prosecutors in order to determine her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. So, amazingly, a young mother, undeniably and completely responsible for the health and welfare of her two-year-old child, who admittedly lied to law enforcement with regard to the disappearance and death of that child, all in the face of a staggering amount of inculpatory evidence, was found guilty of the lies, but not guilty of the death.

At the same time, in a courtroom on the other side of the country, a decidedly different scene played out. In stark contrast to the meticulously investigated case surrounding the murder of Caylee Anthony in Florida, in Arizona, we saw a four-month trial, rife with plausible accusations of prosecutorial misconduct and inadequate disclosure of evidence, not to mention a crime scene that was irresponsibly allowed to be destroyed within 48 hours of the crime, well before the defendant was even indicted.

In spite of these alleged prosecutorial transgressions, within almost the same length of deliberation, a jury found James Arthur Ray guilty of three counts of negligent homicide in the deaths of three participants in a sweat lodge he conducted outside of Sedona, Arizona. On the one hand, we had a mother who was forgiven her obvious responsibility for her toddler and probable complicity in her death, and, on the other, we have a charismatic, New-Age guru ultimately found to be responsible for the deaths of a group of capable adults, technically free to come and go as they pleased, yet willingly engaged in an activity that ultimately endangered their lives.

More: http://insession.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/15/burden-of-proof-comparing-the-casey-anthony-and-sweat-lodge-cases/