Casey Anthony at Sentencing Hearing
Like the Energizer Bunny, the Casey Anthony story just keeps going and going and going. This morning, Judge Belvin Perry sentenced Anthony to four years, the maximum allowable under Florida Law, for her conviction on four counts of lying to detectives in 2008. Judge Perry listened to defense arguments that the four counts of lying occurred during one day in July, so the crimes should be considered as an aggregate offense with one year as the maximum penalty. The prosecution countered that claim saying that the lies occurred over a twelve-hour period, giving Anthony ample time to reflect and conceive additional lies; thus, they occurred as separate crimes Judge Perry agreed with the prosecution.
Determining how much jail time Anthony will serve involves much more complexity than one would assume. First, the judge must consider time already served. This might seem a simple task, but Casey Anthony pled guilty to check fraud on January 25, 2010 and was sentenced to time already served. Does that mean that only the time from that day forward will be considered as time served for the four counts of lying? I believe so, but I am not the presiding judge. Then, the judge must receive information from the jail that will account for factors they consider in mitigating the sentence based on behavior and other considerations. Absolutely nothing about this case has proven simple.
As Star Jones noted on the Today Show, Anthony appeared ready to go home today in court. She had literally, "let down her hair," and wore casual clothes during the hearing. As the defense and prosecution presented opinions, she sat stone-faced listening to them, once again affecting an emotionless demeanor. Outside the courtroom, a large group of protesters displayed signs and shouted opinions to the media covering the event. Will we ever see the end of this case?
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