Attorney predicts tough road for Casey Anthony after probation - Chicago Tribune

Attorney predicts tough road for Casey Anthony after probation

Barbara Liston Reuters
7:09 a.m. CDT, August 24, 2012

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Casey Anthony, the young Florida mother found not guilty of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, completed a year of probation early on Friday but her attorney said freedom would be limited for the woman widely reviled after the acquittal.

Anthony, who had been on probation for check fraud, will "always be imprisoned by her reputation, deserved or not," Orlando lawyer Charles Greene told Reuters.

Anthony, 26, spent three years in jail awaiting trial on a murder charge after Caylee's body was found in woods near the Anthony family home months after the child disappeared in 2008.

Following her acquittal during a highly publicized trial last year, Anthony began serving a one-year probation for check fraud uncovered during the investigation into Caylee's death. Anthony pleaded guilty to making purchases using a friend's checks.

In an unusual move, a judge allowed Anthony to serve her probation at an undisclosed location due to the public outrage that followed the not-guilty verdict in the murder case. A poll at the time ranked Anthony as the most hated American.

A Florida Department of Corrections spokeswoman would not confirm the exact time of Anthony's release from the probation program for security reasons but said she did not commit any violations that would have prolonged her term.

Greene said Anthony's probation ended at 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on Friday.

He would not reveal where Anthony will go now or whether she will return to the home near Orlando that she once shared with her parents. Anthony and her parents became estranged after her defense team alleged that she was molested by her father, an unproven charge that he denied.

"I can't tell you anything like that," Greene said of Anthony's living situation. "We're still greatly concerned about her safety. Security precautions are being taken to ensure that she continues to be safe and her whereabouts are not disclosed."

Greene said he did not know how Anthony would support herself.

"She is looking forward to being free to move about and make decisions for her life," Greene said. "I think she just wants to live out of the public eye and live as normal a life as she can, which will be a difficult thing to do because she's been so vilified."

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