Jose Baez’s book: Does ‘South Park’ figure in story? - Hal

Jose Baez’s book: Does ‘South Park’ figure in story?
posted by halboedeker on July, 5 2012 3:44 PM

THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED:

In “Presumed Guilty,” Jose Baez goes into great detail about his allegations that George Anthony sexually molested Casey Anthony.

But readers were pointing to similarities to “South Park.” (More on that later.)

Fellow defense attorney Cheney Mason weighed in on the abuse allegations Thursday on “In Session.” The program was marking the first anniversary of Casey Anthony’s acquittal on murder charges in daughter Caylee’s death.

In the book, Baez says that he and Mason confronted George Anthony about the abuse allegations. “George sat there for perhaps forty seconds, his head bowed,” Baez writes. “He didn’t say a word. We certainly noted that he didn’t deny it. Cheney and I looked at each other in wonderment.”

Both attorneys agreed that George never denied the accusation in talking to them.

On “In Session,” Mason recalled that “Mr. Anthony was not surprised nor legitimately shocked by the allegations” when he testified as the first witness at the trial.

“He knew from the prosecutor and he knew from me and Mr. Baez that the allegations were there,” Mason said. “So, when he said he had never heard anything like that before that very morning, that shocked me. But it’s history now.”

What of Casey’s recollections about the sexual abuse? She quotes George as saying the male sex organ “sneezes milk.” Those particular words were used in a 2005 episode of “South Park” when Butters gives Jimmy a sex lecture. Readers saw more similarities in other “South Park” episodes from 2001 and 2008.

On “In Session,” Mason recalled Cindy Anthony’s reaction to the accusations about her husband. “She appeared to be very surprised,” Mason said. “She cried, she was upset and for the most part thereafter, she was quiet. I think she and her husband had a lot to talk about. Whether or not it was a new revelation to her I have no way of knowing.”

In an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw, George Anthony denied the abuse allegations, and Cindy Anthony said she believed her husband.

In the book, Baez presents Casey Anthony as a victim of her family. But if Casey believed the accusations she was making against her father, why didn’t she leave the home and take her daughter with her and away from the danger?

It seems to me that Baez’s attempt to win Casey sympathy in the book backfires. What do you think?

Mason said the allegations were not new, but he seemed to signal his displeasure that Baez brought them up at trial.

“I did not know it would be brought, it would be a statement in the trial, and so while I was not shocked about the content, I was certainly astonished and surprised that he chose to do that,” Mason told “In Session.” “That was a surprise to me and to the rest of the [defense] team, but there it was. So, obviously we won.”

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2012/07/jose-baezs-book-does-it-make-casey-anthony-look-worse.html