A Casey Anthony Post Script

The Times covers a bit of prosecutorial misconduct on the Casey Anthony trial:

MIAMI — Assertions by the prosecution that Casey Anthony conducted extensive computer searches on the word “chloroform” were based on inaccurate data, a software designer who testified at the trial said Monday.

The designer, John Bradley, said Ms. Anthony had visited what the prosecution said was a crucial Web site only once, not 84 times, as prosecutors had asserted. He came to that conclusion after redesigning his software, and immediately alerted prosecutors and the police about the mistake, he said.

The finding of 84 visits was used repeatedly during the trial to suggest that Ms. Anthony had planned to murder her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, who was found dead in 2008. Ms. Anthony, who could have faced the death penalty, was acquitted of the killing on July 5.

But before we get too far down on the prosecutors, let's have an "out of the mouths of babes" sidebar:

Casey Anthony from a teen's point of view: 'Personally, I trusted the jury's decision'

...

The prosecutors firmly believed that the murder was premeditated. The evidence they used to support this were the searches made on the computer for chloroform.

The prosecution said it was searched 84 times. But this was after a second test by a brand new program. The original test said that on that day, MySpace was visited 84 times yet in the prosecution’s second test, MySpace wasn’t even mentioned.

Is it a coincidence that they were visited the exact number of times or did the prosecution make a mistake?

Evidently the young author is a shrewd judge of computer forensics.  My *guess* is that the defense presented a rebuttal witness or scored points on cross-examination and the Times failed to mention that.  CNN mentioned MySpace here:

Kevin Stenger, a forensic computer analyst and head of the Orange County Sheriff’s computer crimes unit, used computer programs Net Analysis and Cache Back to recover deleted Internet search histories from the unallocated space portion of the Anthony family’s HP desktop computer. Stenger testified that results obtained from the Net Analysis and Cache Back programs differed in some details. For example, Net Analysis indicated 84 visits to a MySpace website on one day, while Cache Back made no reference to that number. Stenger conceded that figure of 84 MySpace searches may actually be sequential (each visit given the next sequential number after the last search on a previous occasion) rather than indicating 84 searches on a single day. He identified a Google search for “how to make chloraform [sic]” on March 21, 2008.

 

Comments

[peter]

PD, best wishes that your eye injury improves. I myself injured my eye over a week ago, getting a cinder in my eye while walking to the subway. I have been to an ophthalmologist, and the medication has been making me whoozy and out of sorts. So easy to take for granted the gift of vision, along with the many other gifts we receive each moment.

[pagar]

Henry, thanks for the updates.
"failed to submit enough signatures to get on the ballot, "

Do we know the reason he failed to get enough signatures? Did the signature gathers not work hard enough or did the voters just not want him?

[henry]

Apparently his campaign team simply screwed up. They filed without sending in enough signatures to withstand challenges, ended up 400 short. I've heard they had more & didn't send them in on time. The GAB (elections board) and a Dane County judge nixed his filing. The campaign manager was a Tommy Thompson guy -- no excuse for the screw up.

[PD]

peter, it's not really an "injury" as such, I think. Apparently PVD is very common, especially as we get older. And it's not likely to get better, as I understand it. It's just something you learn to live with.

But yes, let us be glad for the blessing of sight.

[Manuel Transmission]

PD, I have also suffered similar degradation to my good eye a year ago while losing even marginal vision in my bad eye about six years ago from a detached retina and the subsequent 100+ laser spot welds. Fortunately, I have a local optometrist on the island that is a 'failed engineer' and therefore a gadget freak so has all the toys to keep me on a trend line in case anything deteriorates further.

[Ben Franklin Forever]

"Dana G. Ward. Check him out."

DoT;

I'm certainly pleased you finally have found purpose in life, albeit twisted and self-subjugating.

Nearly anything can be used to fill a vacuum......

[Agent J. (formally known as "J"..]

Sara, in Reference to CA. I am a father of 7, grand father of 21, great grand father of 3. I have dealt with real life psychology all my life. Some formal schooling but most from the school of hard knocks..

IMO: The first time, while watching the news and they showed the vidio of CA laying on the floor, with Caylee sitting on her, I told my wife that Caylee had been abused. The child looked uncomfortable in that environment..look at the grip that Casey has on the young child's arm, look at the lack of a smile on Caylee face.. Caylee did not show trust and or comfort..that is my gut feeling..

[Barbara]

The child looked uncomfortable in that environment..look at the grip that Casey has on the young child's arm, look at the lack of a smile on Caylee face..

Agent J. - That was my impression as well. The whole episode looked like it was for show. Caylee appeared as though she didn't understand what this person was doing. It certainly did not look like "play" to me.

[Mark Folkestad]

I liked the way one person summed it up on Fox in the last couple of days. Caylee was an accessory to Casey, and Casey simply decided she didn't need that accessory in her wardrobe any more. Now there are reports that Casey is thinking of having another child. But that is only for Casey's benefit. Everything is about Casey, with no empathy for anyone else.

[MayBee]

That was my impression as well. The whole episode looked like it was for show.

That's what narcissists do, right? Put on a show for the folks. But then, when nobody is looking, it's ok to leave the baby with some babysitter that doesn't exist, and go do what you want to do.