How does the Casey Anthony case’s duration compare to that of the murder case of O.J. Simpson?
“From beginning to end, O.J. Simpson’s murder case in California only took 16 months,” WFTV-Channel 9 anchor Martie Salt said. “Eighteen months have already passed in Casey’s case, and the end is nowhere in sight.”
The segment was at the top of WFTV’s 6 p.m. news tonight.
Anthony’s murder trial is not likely to start any sooner than May 2011. She is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.
WFTV’s Kathi Belich cited several reasons for the case’s duration, which can be confounding to people who follow it:
*** Anthony faces a possible death sentence. Simpson didn’t. So the judge, prosecution and especially the defense are taking extra care, Belich said. WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said the judge wants to make sure the case goes to trial only once.
*** The evidence requires close study, and that is made possible by state-of-the-art testing. “Both sides need to understand it and make good arguments about whether it should come into the trial and whether it means Casey is guilty,” Belich said.
***”The case doesn’t stop changing,” Belich concluded. “New evidence that has come to light might cause another delay in the trial. It’s still under investigation, and the defense might not get a chance to look into it for quite some time.”
What do you make of those reasons?
On WESH-Channel 2, Bob Kealing said a lot of the delay can be traced to this being a death penalty case. “The sentencing phase is just like a second trial,” Orlando defense attorney Richard Hornsby said. “In essence, when you have death penalty cases, you’re preparing for two trials at one time.”
Death-penalty preparation takes about two years, and Andrea Lyon has been with Anthony’s defense team since June 2009, Hornsby added.
Kealing also noted there are more than 150 potential witnesses, and many depositions are left to do.
What do you think of those explanations?
Read more here:
Casey Anthony: WFTV compares her case to O.J. Simpson’s.
