Just days ago Casey
Anthony pondered the possibility of a death sentence. This morning she
awakens to the reality that in days she will leave jail and attempt to rejoin
society.
Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Belvin Perry sentenced Casey Anthony on Thursday
on four counts of lying to law enforcement, giving her four years in jail but
also credit for time already served dating back to 2008.
Considering her time incarcerated and other factors, such as good behavior,
court officials said Anthony likely will be released from the Orange County Jail
July 17.
Earlier Thursday, officials gave Wednesday as Anthony’s release date. Jail
officials recalculated the date after receiving the signed sentencing order in
the afternoon.
She was fined $4,000, or $1,000 for each conviction. She also must pay $618
in other costs.
These fines are separate from the investigation and prosecution costs state
prosecutors want Anthony to pay. Those costs will be handled during a later
hearing in August, which she will not have to attend. Also, she will not be
bound by the one-year probation stemming from her earlier guilty plea in a
felony check-fraud case. That probation period expired Jan. 24, during her time
in jail awaiting trial.
The four-year sentence imposed by Perry is the maximum the judge could set
under the jury’s decision.
Unhappy followers of the case gathered outside the Orange County Courthouse
on Thursday expressing their displeasure about her acquittal on a charge of
first-degree murder in connection to her daughter Caylee’s death.
“I feel she got away with murder, and it really irritates me,” said Donna
Marini, an Altamonte
Springs woman who attended most of the trial proceedings.
Nearby, though, Casey Anthony supporters chanted for her release. One man
stood with a sign asking: “Casey will you marry me?”
“I would date her,” said the sign’s holder, Tim Allen. “Everyone deserves a
second chance.”
Inside the courtroom, Anthony showed no reaction while Perry discussed her
lies and imposed his sentence. Earlier, she arrived in Perry’s courtroom
appearing relaxed and happy. Her long hair hung over her shoulders. She beamed
at her defense attorneys.
Demings respects jury decision
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings released a statement later Thursday
expressing his disappointment with the not-guilty verdict.
“For three long years, the citizens of Orange
County, Florida sought justice in the murder of Caylee
Marie Anthony,” he wrote. “Essentially, that process concluded today with
the sentencing of Casey Anthony only on charges associated with lying to law
enforcement officers during the course of the investigation into the
disappearance of her daughter, Caylee.”
However, Demings said he respects the “findings of the jury because that is
part of the criminal justice process.” He urged residents to maintain “a
peaceful resolve.”
Anthony normally wore her long hair in a bun, but she let her hair down for
court Thursday. She huddled with her attorneys Cheney Mason and Dorothy Clay
Sims while smiling and stroking her hair before the hearing began.
Her smiles disappeared, though, as Perry handed down his sentence. Perry
disagreed with one of Anthony’s attorneys, who argued that Anthony’s four
convictions for lying to police should be consolidated into one count.
Assistant State Attorney Linda Drane Burdick argued that Anthony’s lies were
intended to lead law enforcement “on a wild goose chase.”
Anthony had time to pause and reflect about the mistruths, Burdick said.