Aphrodite Jones Reports: From the Casey Anthony Trial Courtroom - Criminal Report Daily

Aphrodite Jones Reports: From the Casey Anthony Trial Courtroom
May 20, 2011

Excerpt:

[ Aphrodite Jones gives her perspective as she attends the Casey Anthony Trial. Check in for her regular reports. Read her Bio >> ]

Aphrodite-bio After almost two weeks of jury selection, today is the day that Judge Perry plans to swear in the Casey Anthony jury. The selection, having been moved to Clearwater, Fla., has been an intense process for everyone sitting in the courtroom ... yet Miss Anthony, oddly, has seemed so entirely composed throughout. That all changed, however, this morning, when a spectator, watching a potential juror being questioned about the death penalty ... suddenly burst out: "She killed someone, anyway!" The woman, Elizabeth Ann Rogers, was lead out of the courtroom, and was brought back in, hyperventilating, hysterically crying, to stand before Judge Belvin Perry to show "cause" as to why she should not be held in contempt of court.

The spectator explained that she was "mentally ill," being diagnosed as bi-polar and borderline personality disorder, and while she apologized to the court and asked not to be punished, Judge Perry explained that her outburst caused the potential loss of a juror, and he found the woman in Contempt. Ms. Rogers could have been sentenced to serve as much as 179 days in jail ... but because of her disability, Judge Perry sentenced her to serve 2 days in the Pinellas County jail. It was an outrageous scene ... and Casey seemed unnerved by it ... as did everyone else.

What was striking about this "mini event," was the fact that Ms. Rogers, a curious bystander who wandered into the court, showed more emotion in the few minutes she stood before Judge Perry, than I have yet to see from Casey Anthony herself.

Geeze ... you'd think this lady (Ms. Rogers) was on trial herself ... the way she cried and carried on in front of the judge.

It was eerie to watch a spectator being led away by deputies, hysterical and trying to catch her breath ... And ... at least, for me, it brought home the true gravity of the situation that Miss Casey Anthony is facing ...

http://blogs.discovery.com/criminal_report/2011/05/aphrodite-jones-reports-from-the-casey-anthony-trial-courtroom.html