Casey Anthony (left) was found not guilty of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee (right).
A nation is reeling in the wake of Casey Anthony's "not guilty" verdict in the case of her then 2-year-old daughter Caylee's death in 2008. Critics are calling it the 2011 O.J. trial — with evidence stacked against her (duct tape marks on the child's mouth, "smell of death" in her car's trunk, allegations of the young mom wanting to get rid of her kid to lead a party lifestyle with her boyfriend), it seemed Anthony was set to face major consequences. 25-year-old Anthony potentially faced the death penalty if found guilty. However, after just 11 hours, a jury found her not guilty of murder — she was only charged with several counts of lying to investigators.
After such a long, grueling, circus-esque legal process with millions of people following each step of the case, many were ready to bring Caylee to justice. They now face the reality that that will never happen. Anthony is officially free from murder charges and can proceed to live a (somewhat) normal life again.
Defense attorneys argued that Caylee had accidentally drowned in the family pool, and in a panic, Anthony hid her body. At best, this seems like a shabbily-crafted excuse that still reeks of criminal behavior and exceedingly poor judgment. Had Anthony intentionally killed her toddler daughter in 2008, which still remains a high possibility in many spectators' minds, she just got away with murder. 40-year-old Karen Murphy of Prince William County, Va., probably will not.
Murphy was charged with murder after leaving her 2-year-old son strapped in his car seat for over 7 hours unattended. All parties agree that this very unfortunate event was accidental, but because of her neglectful parenting, she faces up to 40 years in prison. According to Prince William police, neighbors could hear Murphy's screams upon discovering 2-year-old Ryan Murphy dead in the family's minivan.
Murphy is set to go on trial soon, and some obvious parallels to the Anthony case come to mind. They are both mothers who in some way aided in the untimely expiration of their young, innocent children. They both are being shunned by the public for their poor parenting skills which ended in the ultimate tragedies. However, Murphy did not hide her son's body. She did not lie to police. There are no allegations that she may have left her son to die purposely. She is obviously distraught, and not just because she faces prison time — but because her child is gone, and it is her fault. The same cannot be said for Anthony, who reportedly participated in a "hot body" contest during the time Caylee was "missing." Though tears stained her trembling face as the jury delivered their verdict, it is unlikely it had anything to do with the loss of her daughter. It was probably because she didn't want to meet the same fate as Caylee — a very, very untimely death — by receiving the death penalty.
Which is worse — a mother who is fatally forgetful, or a mother who quite possibly suffocated her own daughter so that she could shirk parental responsibilities? If Murphy is convicted, while Anthony was not, it is sending the message that with the right lawyers or the right jury, evidence means nothing and nonsensical alibis will fly. Murphy faces enough heartache and distress knowing her actions led to the death of her young son. She should not be able to go scotch-free, but both the parallels and the inconsistencies in these two cases are alarming. There is no doubt that Murphy would have never intentionally murdered her child. With Anthony, however, that doubt remains even beyond her fortuitous verdict.
