Is death-penalty list a setback to defense? Is the list detailed enough?

Casey Anthony: Is death-penalty list a setback to defense? Is the list detailed enough?

posted by halboedeker on May, 14 2010 9:02 AM

What does the prosecution’s death penalty list mean in the Casey Anthony case? TV analysts weighed in last night.

The list was a setback to the defense, WFTV-Channel 9 legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said. “It gives the state more ammunition during the penalty phase to argue for the death penalty and certainly the facts as we know it support each and every one of these aggravating factors,” he said.

Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee. Those aggravating factors are cold, calculated premeditation; the victim’s being younger than 12; the victim’s being in her mother’s care; that the murder was committed during aggravated child abuse; and that it was a particularly atrocious, heinous or cruel crime.

Sheaffer said the list ”refutes the allegations that the state sought the death penalty for an improper reason.” WKMG-Channel 6’s Tony Pipitone stressed that the factors only come into play if Anthony is convicted of first-degree murder and that we don’t know what her attorneys will argue were mitigating factors. Pipitone then explored the challenges of proving each aggravating factor.

Anthony is also charged with aggravated child abuse, and if she’s convicted of that crime and the murder, that aggravator will be proved, Pipitone noted.

Pipitone said it will be harder to prove that the murder was cold, calculated premeditation or an atrocious, cruel crime. Pipitone noted there’s a lot of speculation on these points, but that aggravators “have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

If Anthony is convicted, Caylee’s age and being in her mother’s care would be easiest to prove, Pipitone said.

WESH-Channel 2’s Bob Kealing said the defense and prosecution were disagreeing over the death-penalty list. Prosecutor Jeff Ashton said he just needs to list the reasons, but defense attorney Jose Baez wants more detail, Kealing reported.

At 11 last night, Kealing looked at seven key points in the case. He said he had polled several sources about “the biggest developments in a very eventful week.”

Kealing highlighted prosecutor Ashton’s description of “a phantom plea.”

“With those words, phantom plea, prosecutors denied offering Casey any kind of plea deal,” Kealing said.

Kealing also highlighted that the death penalty is still possible in the case, “a reality that at times appeared to hit Casey hard.” The report replayed footage of Anthony wiping away tears.

Kealing’s other points included the prosecution’s being forced to list the reasons it’s seeking the death penalty; Judge Belvin Perry’s push for strict deadlines and fewer hearings; and Perry’s decision to go to another location to find the jury. Kealing’s other two points were the prosecution’s decision to use party pictures of Anthony during the month Caylee was missing and prosecutors’ revelation that Anthony is the first mother accused of killing her child they’ve prosecuted who isn’t claiming mental illness.

Kealing added that “one bright spot in otherwise grueling week for Casey Anthony” was that she told her mother, Cindy, “I love you” and “happy Mother’s Day.”


http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2010/05/casey-anthony-is-death-penalty-list-a-setback-to-defense-is-the-list-detailed-enough.html