MIXED BAG: Orlando, Fla., residents react upon hearing of Casey Anthony’s acquittal yesterday, even as Anthony’s parents, Cindy and George, exit court in a somber mood. (AP)
Cindy and George, exit court in a somber mood. (AP)
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They couldn’t believe it.
After a monthlong trial that convinced most of America that Casey Anthony was a monster who murdered her adorable daughter in cold blood, people around the country were in a state of shock at the not-guilty verdict.
“Where’s justice for Caylee?” a stunned Janine Gonzalez gasped outside the Orlando courthouse.
“Do you mean to tell me that in Florida you can kill your child, toss her on the side of the road and go free? She [Anthony] better move, and move to a faraway place,” she told the Orlando Sun Sentinel.
Also outside the courthouse, spectator Cathy Cooper broke down in tears. “She killed her baby!” she wailed.
“[The verdict] is going to make millions of people think they can get away with killing their child . . . That isn’t a good depiction of what our justice system is like or should be,” another stunned spectator, who asked not to be identified, told ABC News.
In New York, onlookers watched open-mouthed on the giant screen in Times Square, in bars and at work on their computers.
“It’s insane,” said Donna Smalls, 33, of Brooklyn, who was outraged that Anthony got away scot-free.
“She had to have something to do with it,” Smalls said. “This case has been on my mind, I’m a mother. It affects everyone.”
Beatrice Lopez, 39, a teacher in Manhattan, said, “I always thought she was guilty. Casey was out partying and seen in bars in a great mood while her daughter was missing. I totally disagree with the jury, and I don’t have faith in the judicial system anymore.
“Most of these high-profile cases turn out the same not guilty verdict — look at those rape cops who just got off.”