Ignoring Casey Anthony.....

The acquittal of Casey Anthony seems to have sent both the public and the media in Florida into a frenzy.  So certain had the press been of a conviction, that the coverage of the Casey Anthony case was 24 hours a day every day, and the fact that the trial continued on weekends meant that the press did not even have find another story to focus on at weekends.  The impact of this is that all other newsworthy items concerning the criminal justice system in Florida were relegated to a byline buried deep in the newspaper, or on the media websites.  Most importantly, a judge's ruling in the US Federal Court , that the method used by a jury in Florida when recommending a death sentence was unconstitutional, did not create any attention to anyone other than criminal defence lawyers and death penalty abolition organisations.  At any other time this would have made headline news, as it is a big development, but in the Casey Anthony furor it was virtually ignored by all the media outlets.

So what does this Federal Judge's ruling in the case of Evans vs. McNeil mean for the death penalty in Florida? In reality, this is a stand by one judge, and will undoubtedly be overturned on appeal by the State, but for death penalty abolitionists, like myself, it is a start in the right direction.  The issue is regularly raised by defence lawyers in both the Federal and County Courts in Florida, and the judges give the argument short shrift, deny the motion, and move on.  The fact a judge has, for once, agreed with the Defence motion is an indication that the tide of opinion may be turning against the death penalty in Florida.

The State's response to the decision can be found at http://howappealing.law.com/EvansVsMcNeilSDFla.pdf

Watch this space for updates...both on this case,  and other Florida criminal justice issues. 

And for those who have not heard about the Casey Anthony case.....type her name into any international media search engine and read the results with scepticism...if ever there was an example of media overhype, this Casey Anthony's arrest and prosecution has to be it....there is even a Casey Anthony app on iTunes!