HomeReport argues against death penalty
Page 1 of 1
Report argues against death penalty
by oviedo45 Thu Nov 06, 2008 1:37 pm
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-casey0608nov06,0,7406889.story
Report argues against death for Casey Anthony
Sarah Lundy | Sentinel Staff Writer
November 6, 2008
A Miami lawyer hired by Casey Anthony's defense team gave prosecutors a report Wednesday outlining arguments on why the single mother accused of killing her child should not face the death penalty.
The 30-page packet highlights problems with some of the evidence and describes how aspects of Anthony's case do not fit the state criteria for the death penalty -- a sentence reserved for the worst of the worst homicides.
It touches on Anthony's erratic behavior after her daughter's birth that suggests signs of emotional or mental distress. The report ended with pictures of Anthony during happier times, as a child surrounded by her parents and her brother.
"Casey Anthony is a unique individual. A close inspection of her case clearly supports not filing a notice seeking death," attorney Terence Lenamon wrote in a report obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.
The State Attorney's Office would not confirm whether it had received the report, which is not a public record. Such reports are part of the process prosecutors go through to decide whether they will seek a death sentence or life in prison for a person charged with a capital crime.
The report is not an admission of guilt. The idea is to explore whether facts in the case truly justify the death penalty if a suspect is convicted.
Anthony was charged last month with killing her daughter, Caylee Marie, who was reported missing on July 15. No body has been found, and Anthony's lawyer, Jose Baez, and family members contend that the child, who would have turned 3 in August, still could be alive.
Anthony told investigators that she left Caylee with a baby sitter in mid-June. When she returned later that day, both the baby sitter and Caylee were gone. Detectives have not been able to locate the baby sitter and doubt she exists.
If prosecutors pursue the death penalty, the trial will be divided into two sections: the guilt/innocent phase and the sentence phase.
Lenamon's report addresses the sentence phase, when the jury hears evidence for and against imposing the ultimate penalty.
Some of the arguments outlined against death include:
* The techniques used to analyze hair and air samples from the trunk of Anthony's car to prove evidence of a body are "novel, experimental, in the early stages of development, inconclusive and highly susceptible to mishandling," Lenamon wrote. Even if the evidence is enough for a guilty verdict, it would not be enough to support the death penalty, according to the report.
* Details of the Anthony case are insufficient to justify the death penalty, the lawyer wrote. She doesn't have a criminal record. There is no history of child abuse. The crime was not cold, calculated and premeditated. No one knows how death might have happened -- if at all. In the months leading up to Caylee's disappearance, Anthony's behavior was described by friends and family as "erratic and not entirely rational."
* Filicide -- the act of a parent killing a child -- is different from other homicides. The underlying reasons why mothers kill are complex and can be divided into various categories.
* Juries are more likely to show mothers mercy. The report mentions Andrea Yates, a Texas mother who drowned her five children. She was sentenced to life in prison but later sent to a mental hospital. Susan Smith, the South Carolina mother who drowned her two children in a lake, got life in prison.
* Experts will likely agree that Anthony was "suffering from episodes of extreme emotional distress and disturbance since her daughter's birth," the report said. Even the lack of emotion after her child's disappearance and the arrest "is not normal," Lenamon wrote.
* Anita Simmons, an Orange County woman who beat her 8-year-old daughter to death, got 42 years in prison, the report said. Lenamon also cited other examples around that state that also led to life sentences.
"A careful consideration of the totality of the circumstances in this case leads to a clear conclusion that filing a notice of the death penalty is not the right thing to do," he wrote.
Sarah Lundy can be reached at slundy@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6218.
EmailE-mail
Share
Report argues against death for Casey Anthony
Sarah Lundy | Sentinel Staff Writer
November 6, 2008
A Miami lawyer hired by Casey Anthony's defense team gave prosecutors a report Wednesday outlining arguments on why the single mother accused of killing her child should not face the death penalty.
The 30-page packet highlights problems with some of the evidence and describes how aspects of Anthony's case do not fit the state criteria for the death penalty -- a sentence reserved for the worst of the worst homicides.
It touches on Anthony's erratic behavior after her daughter's birth that suggests signs of emotional or mental distress. The report ended with pictures of Anthony during happier times, as a child surrounded by her parents and her brother.
"Casey Anthony is a unique individual. A close inspection of her case clearly supports not filing a notice seeking death," attorney Terence Lenamon wrote in a report obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.
The State Attorney's Office would not confirm whether it had received the report, which is not a public record. Such reports are part of the process prosecutors go through to decide whether they will seek a death sentence or life in prison for a person charged with a capital crime.
The report is not an admission of guilt. The idea is to explore whether facts in the case truly justify the death penalty if a suspect is convicted.
Anthony was charged last month with killing her daughter, Caylee Marie, who was reported missing on July 15. No body has been found, and Anthony's lawyer, Jose Baez, and family members contend that the child, who would have turned 3 in August, still could be alive.
Anthony told investigators that she left Caylee with a baby sitter in mid-June. When she returned later that day, both the baby sitter and Caylee were gone. Detectives have not been able to locate the baby sitter and doubt she exists.
If prosecutors pursue the death penalty, the trial will be divided into two sections: the guilt/innocent phase and the sentence phase.
Lenamon's report addresses the sentence phase, when the jury hears evidence for and against imposing the ultimate penalty.
Some of the arguments outlined against death include:
* The techniques used to analyze hair and air samples from the trunk of Anthony's car to prove evidence of a body are "novel, experimental, in the early stages of development, inconclusive and highly susceptible to mishandling," Lenamon wrote. Even if the evidence is enough for a guilty verdict, it would not be enough to support the death penalty, according to the report.
* Details of the Anthony case are insufficient to justify the death penalty, the lawyer wrote. She doesn't have a criminal record. There is no history of child abuse. The crime was not cold, calculated and premeditated. No one knows how death might have happened -- if at all. In the months leading up to Caylee's disappearance, Anthony's behavior was described by friends and family as "erratic and not entirely rational."
* Filicide -- the act of a parent killing a child -- is different from other homicides. The underlying reasons why mothers kill are complex and can be divided into various categories.
* Juries are more likely to show mothers mercy. The report mentions Andrea Yates, a Texas mother who drowned her five children. She was sentenced to life in prison but later sent to a mental hospital. Susan Smith, the South Carolina mother who drowned her two children in a lake, got life in prison.
* Experts will likely agree that Anthony was "suffering from episodes of extreme emotional distress and disturbance since her daughter's birth," the report said. Even the lack of emotion after her child's disappearance and the arrest "is not normal," Lenamon wrote.
* Anita Simmons, an Orange County woman who beat her 8-year-old daughter to death, got 42 years in prison, the report said. Lenamon also cited other examples around that state that also led to life sentences.
"A careful consideration of the totality of the circumstances in this case leads to a clear conclusion that filing a notice of the death penalty is not the right thing to do," he wrote.
Sarah Lundy can be reached at slundy@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6218.
EmailE-mail
Share
oviedo45- Admin
Similar topics» Casey Anthony defense again argues against death penalty aggravators
» Caylee Anthony case: Linda Drane Burdick argues…death really isn’t all that different - Valhall
» No death penalty
» Terry Lenamon explains filicide
» SURVEY - Death Penalty
» Caylee Anthony case: Linda Drane Burdick argues…death really isn’t all that different - Valhall
» No death penalty
» Terry Lenamon explains filicide
» SURVEY - Death Penalty
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum|
|
|