I did not watch the trial for Casey Anthony. I don’t have TV and don’t like getting sucked into all the drama surrounding legal cases like this. Even with all that – I still heard bits and pieces and knew the exact moment when the verdict had been handed down by the jury.
What has surprised me (although it shouldn’t, I’ve been around long enough) is the amount of vitriol that has been spewed forth on social networking. Casey Anthony has become the poster child for “evil personified.” Even jurors, who have sacrificially given of their time to serve for this case, have received death threats. They showed up and they did their jobs. They did not say Casey Anthony was innocent. They came to the conclusion that there was not enough evidence to commit her to a death sentence. Justice did its job, even if we disagree with the outcome.
Casey Anthony has to face a higher judge. She will face, someday, the One from whom no one can hide truth. She will have to watch all that happened and it will be evident where true guilt lies and what her crimes really are. I cannot judge what I do not know or have incontrovertible evidence of. Neither can you. The case has left many with unanswered questions although some would like to assume they already know the answers. The fact is – only God and Casey REALLY know what happened to Caylee.
It is interesting that in a society that regularly kills babies before they are born, would get so worked up over the death of one child. Accidental or murder, she is gone and safe from further harm. I trust that God has her in His tender care and she does not suffer. Maybe she was saved from something far worse than eternity in His presence? We will never know. She is gone, she is safe. Our anger and rage should be against the crimes that are perpetrated every hour of every day to kill babies in this country, for the sake of convenience and a woman’s rights. If a woman has a right to kill a child at 8 months gestation, then why is a two-year old different? I am pro-life. I believe life is sacred from conception to the grave. But the inconsistency in our culture floors me. All this anger directed at one woman and a jury – when we have a President, a Supreme Court and doctors around this nation who support killing children? Doesn’t the cognitive dissonance of that irritate you?
So, in many ways, I feel sorry for Casey Anthony. At twenty-five years of age, she is an attractive young woman who has been found tried by a fickle society and has lost any chance of a “normal” life in this world because of the notoriety of this case and the high emotions that have been stoked by the media. While freedom from a death penalty, and getting out jail is certainly a bonus for her – what does she have the freedom to do? She can’t get a job at Wal-mart. Where could she work to support herself and pay all her legal costs? She could write a book, true, but she will still lack the freedom to go to McDonald’s or Starbucks to enjoy time with a friend. Have any friends even stood by her through this? She has lost closeness with her parents. Who will support her other than her attorneys who get paid to help?
Casey is one of many people in this world who walk around wearing “GUILTY” stamped across their chests. And yet – before God we are ALL guilty of sin, aren’t we? Without repentance and the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and His resurrection, what hope do any of us have of freedom and joy and “life?”
As a Christian, my heart goes out to Casey. God has placed her on my heart and I pray for her: For her heart, for His plan for her future, and that she will be open to what He may choose to do in and through her life if she chooses to accept his “get out of jail free” card. Without God’s mercy on any of our souls, we all are under a death penalty with the ultimate destination being hell. No matter what the crime, Casey Anthony was created in the image of God. Whether she acknowledges Him or not, He loves her and desires a relationship with her. She needs our prayers, not our condemnation. May God have mercy on our souls for presuming we can do God’s job for Him now that human justice has been meted out. May God have mercy on Casey Anthony’s soul as she steps into her uncertain future. May God have mercy on our nation for our inconsistent views on the value of human life.
I don’t know what really happened to that child. I do know that thousands of children die from starvation & dirty water every day. I’m encouraging people outraged by this verdict to stand in the way of death taking an innocent child by getting involved in a charity that feeds and provides clean water and medicine to children every day. I can’t save Caylee’s life, but if I do nothing to preserve these other lives, I believe I’ll be held responsible for that. It’s my own “negligent homicide” conviction.
I think you make a valid point. We need to stop pointing fingers at one lone woman and take responsibility for what God is calling us to do in our own realm of influence. For each of us that may take a different form – but we are held accountable for what we do – or don’t do – to save the lives of the innocent around us whether through the clean water, starvation, child-sex trafficking, abortion, child abuse. There is enough evil in this world to keep us all from having to focus on one lone sinner. We are all culpable to some degree if we don’t act against the evil we see and can do something about.