The Death Penalty

Prosecutors File Response In Casey Case

Posted: 3:35 pm EDT May 27, 2010
Updated: 4:21 pm EDT May 27, 2010

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Prosecutors filed their response Thursday (read it) in the case against Casey Anthony, to the defense's motions challenging the death penalty.

DOCUMENTS: Hearing | Prosecutor's Response

The state is calling Casey's attorneys’ arguments against the death penalty, premature since evidence has not been formally presented to the court.

Casey's defense team has submitted seven motions trying to prove a death sentence would be unconstitutional in this case.

Casey Anthony is scheduled to be in court Tuesday afternoon, June 1 (read it), where Judge Belvin Perry will hear motions involving jail visiting log records, rulings by a former judge, aggravating circumstances, and a supplemental motion to compel forensic evidence.

http://www.wftv.com/news/23699671/detail.html

More documents filed in court today

By Sarah Lundy, Orlando Sentinel
1:59 p.m. EDT, May 27, 2010

More documents were filed today in the case against Casey Anthony, the 24-year-old accused of killing her daughter, Caylee.

Prosecutors respond to various motions from the defense that challenge Florida's death penalty. Assistant State Attorney Jeff Ashton wrote that some of the defense' arguments are "premature as the court has yet to take evidence in the case." He also sites previous case rulings that support the death penalty.

Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder. She remains in the Orange County Jail. Her trial is set for next year.

The toddler's remains were found in woods near her family home in December 2008 — five months after the 2-year-old was reported missing.

A hearing is scheduled on Tuesday when Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Belvin Perry will listen to several defense requests, including sealing jail visiting logs and reconsidering prior rulings by a previous judge who stepped down from the case.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-casey-anthony-more-documents-20100527,0,7369925.story

Nothing like putting the cart before the horse...I hope someone tapes this court date of 6/1 as I have a prior commitment, that I cant get out of, for that afternoon...Cant wait to hear Judge Perry's rulings!!!!!

Prosecutors File Response In Casey Case

Posted: 3:35 pm EDT May 27, 2010
Updated: 4:21 pm EDT May 27, 2010

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Prosecutors filed their response Thursday (read it) in the case against Casey Anthony, to the defense's motions challenging the death penalty.

DOCUMENTS: Hearing | Prosecutor's Response

The state is calling Casey's attorneys’ arguments against the death penalty, premature since evidence has not been formally presented to the court.

Casey's defense team has submitted seven motions trying to prove a death sentence would be unconstitutional in this case.

Casey Anthony is scheduled to be in court Tuesday afternoon, June 1 (read it), where Judge Belvin Perry will hear motions involving jail visiting log records, rulings by a former judge, aggravating circumstances, and a supplemental motion to compel forensic evidence.

http://www.wftv.com/news/23699671/detail.html

Casey Anthony defense again argues against death penalty aggravators

By Anthony Colarossi, Orlando Sentinel
6:35 p.m. EDT, June 11, 2010

Attorneys for Casey Anthony submitted three new arguments against reasons that would be used to secure a death sentence in the child murder case.

The documents received by Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Belvin Perry's office Friday reiterate earlier arguments about the constitutionality of three aggravating circumstances that prosecutors want to use to win a death sentence.

One speaks about a capital felony — the murder — being committed while Anthony engaged in another felony, in this case aggravated child abuse.

The defense argues that when examining if an aggravator might be overbroad, "the Court looks to whether there is a risk that the statute will result in capricious or arbitrary imposition of death."

The legal team goes on to say this particular aggravator "fails to narrow the class of death eligible persons in a meaningful way, and thereby allows arbitrary and capricious application of the death penalty."

The second circumstance questions whether 2-year-old Caylee Marie Anthony's death "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel," as defined in Florida's death penalty statute.

Anthony, 24, is charged with killing her daughter. The toddler's remains were found in December 2008, six months after her mother claims she last saw her alive.

The defense says prosecutors have not cited case law that "substantively address the constitutionality of the aggravator itself."

The defense earlier filed a survey of how the so-called "HAC" aggravator is "actually applied."

"This analysis shows that the aggravator itself — irrespective of the instruction given to the jury — cannot be found constitutional due to its vagueness, failure to narrow, and the arbitrary and capricious application of the aggravator that has occurred in Florida since its inception," Casey's legal team argues.

The third aggravator involves the capital felony, whether it was a homicide and "committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification," as defined in the statute.

The defense cites case law brought up in an earlier filing and argues that the cases "illustrate that the constitutionality of the cold, calculated and premeditated aggravator has not been resolved – as the state argues…"

The Casey team concludes that prosecutors should be "precluded from using . . . [the cold, calculated and premeditated aggravator] as an aggravator to support the decision to execute Miss Anthony."

The submitted documents serve as replies to responses prosecutors filed earlier in the case.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-casey-anthony-death-penalty-motion20100611,0,4889737.story

well, that still leaves about 3 that the state can and prob will use...

i suppose the defense will next argue that caylee was actually 25 years old to get rid of another.

maybe they will also try to say that KC has never been proven to be caylee's biological mother to get rid of another.

i think it is pretty easy to see that the defense is now quite certain that KC will never see the light of day as a free woman again, the only battle they have to fight is against the DP. IMHO

I'm with you Randi. The defense must have given up hope on an acquittal and just want to keep her sorry butt alive, or they want the DP off the table so they aren't rolling the dice with her life when they try to get her acquitted. If the DP is still on the table near trial time, Casey is going to have to seriously consider begging the state to give her a plea deal for LWOP in exchange for admitting what she really did to Caylee, or she is at serious risk of being sentenced to death.

Defense Argues Against Death Penalty, Questions Heinousness of Crime

June 14, 2010 11:49 AM

ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS) In May, prosecutors in the Casey Anthony murder case submitted to the judge their top five arguments for why they should be allowed to seek the death penalty.

Now, the defense is attempting to knock those justifications down with a top three list of their own, including an argument questioning whether Caylee Anthony's death was "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel."

In papers filed with Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Friday, Casey Anthony's defense reiterated earlier arguments questioning the constitutionality of the three aggravating factors that prosecutors use in their argument, according to The Orlando Sentinel.

Their first argument deals with the prosecution argument that the capitol offense - murder - was committed while committing an additional felony - aggravated child abuse - and asks if examining whether an aggravating factor might be too broad.

The defense then questions, according to the paper, whether Caylee's death was "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel," as defined by the death penalty statute.

Finally, the defense asks that prosecutors be prevented from using the "[the cold, calculated and premeditated aggravator] as an aggravator to support the decision to execute Miss Anthony," the paper reported.

Casey Anthony's daughter, Caylee, was reported missing in July 2008, a month after Casey claims to have last seen her daughter. Caylee's remains were found five months later in a wooded area near the Anthony family's east Orange County home.

Anthony has pleaded not guilty to murdering Caylee and her trial is set to start in May 2011.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20007597-504083.html

Sure Jose, it's not heinous to kill your child, put her in a garbage bag with duct tape on her mouth, and dump her in the woods like a piece of trash.

thanks for saying that for me J4a...

that was the 1st thing i thought of when i read that.

Casey Anthony ruling: Motions against death penalty denied
Chief Orange-Osceola Circuit Judge Belvin Perry denies motions challenging constitutionality of certain elements of Florida's death-penalty statute.

By Anthony Colarossi, Orlando Sentinel
2:00 p.m. EDT, August 6, 2010

Chief Orange-Osceola Circuit Judge Belvin Perry denied a series of Casey Anthony defense motions today, motions that argued against the use of certain parts of the death-penalty statute in this case.

Perry denied eight motions — seven of them filed late last year and one filed this year.
Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee Marie Anthony. The child's remains were found in late 2008, months after she was reported missing.

Anthony, 24, is slated to go to trial in May.

Read more: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-casey-anthony-perry-orders-20100806,0,7309020.story

Chief Orange-Osceola Circuit Judge Belvin Perry denied a series of Casey Anthony defense motions today, motions that argued against the use of certain parts of the death-penalty statute in this case.

Read Orders Here:

Order #1: http://www.wesh.com/pdf/24539468/detail.html

Order #2: http://www.wesh.com/pdf/24539471/detail.html

Order #3: http://www.wesh.com/pdf/24539539/detail.html

Order #4 http://www.wesh.com/pdf/24539542/detail.html

Order #5: http://www.wesh.com/pdf/24539545/detail.html

Order #6 http://www.wesh.com/pdf/24539528/detail.html

Order #7 http://www.wesh.com/pdf/24539529/detail.html

Order #8 http://www.wesh.com/pdf/24539530/detail.html

JP!!!

Pimp Slap....He shudda known better (Bozo, that is)...

Go Judge Perry!

Fate could hinge on Perry's rulings on death penalty

By Anthony Colarossi, Orlando Sentinel
11:50 p.m. EDT, August 15, 2010

In the final phase of a death-penalty case, jurors must rely on recollection of evidence, veracity of court testimony and, ultimately, instructions given to them by the judge.

If Casey Anthony's murder case gets to that point, her jury will consider language such as "cold, calculated or premeditated" when deciding whether she should live or die.

Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Belvin Perry recently issued a series of orders denying Anthony's defense team motions that challenged aspects of Florida's death-penalty process. In doing this, Perry allowed for the prosecution to use several "aggravating circumstances" during her trial's so-called penalty phase, should Anthony be convicted.

Such aggravators — asking jurors to consider whether a murder, for instance, was committed in a "heinous, atrocious, or cruel" way — must get weighed against so-called "mitigating circumstances," meant to offer explanations for why someone kills.

Read more: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-casey-anthony-death-penalty-20100815,0,6307759,full.story

Case highlights Fla. death penalty law

Published: Aug. 16, 2010 at 1:29 PM

ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 16 (UPI) -- If the murder trial of Casey Anthony ends in a conviction it will bring Florida's "hybrid" death penalty into the case, legal experts say.

Anthony is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee Marie, whose remains were found near the family home in 2008, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel reported Sunday.

If convicted, the jury will recommend a sentence -- either the death penalty or life in prison -- but Florida is one of only three states, along with Alabama and Delaware, that allow judges to decide against a jury, the newspaper said.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/08/16/Case-highlights-Fla-death-penalty-law/UPI-34561281979773/

~Snipped from the above UPI article:

In 30 states, a jury must vote unanimously to sentence someone to death. A vote of 11-1 for death in those states means a mandatory life sentence, whether the judge agrees or not.

In Florida, however, an 11-1 vote for death would be a strong show of support for a death sentence and judges would normally be inclined to rule that way, experts say.

11 - 1 is just in the sentencing phase, right? But they have to be unanimous in the guilt phase.

That's right Mama...everyone on the jury has to say guilty or not guilty... It's only on the sentencing phase can the Judge over rule the jury for the final sentence...then of course they have so long to appeal...That's the way here in Florida...