It is 26 minutes away from my 37th birthday as I begin writing this. For the past 2 and 1/2 hours, it has been my birthday on the East Coast. Today, I began an art project I have been thinking about for some time. Today, Casey Anthony was found Not Guilty of committing murder, child abuse nor manslaughter. Today, my wife and I sat down to watch Goodnight in the Garden of Good and Evil for the first time. A line from the movie struck me." I would rather be committed of lying, then of murder." Today, I wonder why did the author choose these words?
However they came to this quote, I find it strangely coincidental to todays activities. Casey Anthony was convicted on Lying to Authorities. But not of murder, neglect nor accidental death, though her defense was it was an accidental death. So many people were outraged. Others found solace in our Justice systems ability to not convict an individual based on circumstantial evidence. I find myself asking about the life of the little girl.
I must admit, that I myself have been fascinated by the case from it's conception. Not because of the Media Sensationalism, nor the concept of a mother neglecting a child so severe that it caused the child her life. My fascination stemmed from the small world of my wife knowing, very personally, the brother of Casey Anthony. This made the circumstances much more relevant for me. This was a young girl, from Orlando, Florida that grew up in the Fantasia Effect of Disney Magic which paints a subconscious backdrop to everyone that lives there. This was a fantastical dream turned to a horrific nightmare with the simple paint of a brush, unlike Walt Disney's.
This was a pile of evidence that painted a picture of lies, deceit, denial, and fabrication. Not too far off from a Disney movie, but with a completely different twist. The daughter entitled herself as a "victim" while in prison. She tainted her brother and father as child molesters. She fabricated a story so detailed with color and characters, that it could have been pitched as a Hanna Montana episode, minus the child death. But what continued the fairy tale was the defenses announcement of the cause of death. More fantastical then Fantasia ever could have imagined. But even as truth, could not have predicted an outcome so far fetched.
Someone posted that it's good we live in a world that has a justice system that doesn't hail women as witches as they did in the Salem witch trial (especially because my wife was born in Salem, Mass.). But I have to ask, How did they convict people prior to Forensic Evidence and episodes of CSI, Miami? Unless the knife was in the killers hand, it was always circumstantial. At some point, we look at the material and say, yep, it was her. I agree, many, many, many people have been put behind bars for reasons that did not fit the crime. Like blackmail or being a black male. But not calling to say your daughter has drowned in a pool or that she was kidnapped by Zanny the Nanny for 31 days is beyond comprehension. Is there a parent out there in the world who can empathize with this decision? PLEASE WRITE A RESPONSE EXPLAINING HOW AND WHY?
But as the clock strikes midnight and I turn a year older, I think about Caylee. I have heard so much about the justice system and Casey Anthony and the attorneys... but what I don't hear enough of, is that a young, defenseless, innocent child was murdered. I say that knowing that people will say, "You don't know that!" But I do. I know, that if a child dies in an accidental drowning, there is no need to place duct tape on her mouth. For she is already dead. I know that you don't hide a toddlers body in the woods, blocks from your house in a trash bag, being your daughter, if it was an accidental drowning. I know that you don't continue on with life, going to bars, clubs, getting tattoos, when you just hid your child's remains in a trash bag, down the street from your house. How do I know this? Because I have morals, I have reason and I am not a christian, and therefore I judge. I judge everyday. And the jurors of this court were too damn scared to simply judge another human being on horrendous actions that resulted in a child's death. On this birthday, I simply wish that humanity, reason and judgement be a guiding force in society. So that another child doesn't have to go through a torturous minute of existence in this psychopathic and neurotic adult world that they are thrust upon, with no ability to defend or voice their concerns.
For a family encased in Disney culture and ideals, it seems that uncle Walt has escaped them. Or has he created a world where it is too impossible to understand that horrific things happen to people every day. And if we just deny that it happened, it will all go away. It will all go away. It will all go away. Just like Caylee Anthony.
