Orange County prosecutors filed notice of their intent to seek the death penalty in their case against Casey Anthony today. Anthony is charged with the first-degree murder of her two-year-old daughter Caylee.

In a case that has captivated the nation, Anthony still claims that Caylee was kidnapped. Her body was found in December in the woods near the family’s home. Casey Anthony has insisted that she left Caylee with a baby sitter in June, but she didn’t report Caylee missing for another month.

Casey Anthony was arrested in October but prosecutors gave no indication at that time that they intended to seek the death penalty. Her legal team already has qualified Florida capital murder defense attorneys on board though. They are prepared for a vigorous defense, according to a statement from Anthony’s lawyer.

It will be interesting to see which of the statutory aggravating factors are argued by the State Attorney in this case. In order for the death penalty to be imposed in Florida, a jury must first convict the defendant of first-degree murder, then – after a separate penalty phase of trial – find that certain specific aggravating factors outweigh certain specific mitigating factors. Those factors are spelled out in Florida’s death penalty statute.

In the Anthony case, we expect to see prosecutors hang their hats on two aggravating factors in particular:

• The capital felony was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel and
• The capital felony was a homicide and was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification.

If Anthony is found guilty and the penalty phase is reached, Anthony’s capital murder defense attorneys will likely argue that at least three of the statutory mitigating factors apply:

• The defendant has no significant history of prior criminal activity.
• The capital felony was committed while the defendant was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance.
• The age of the defendant at the time of the crime. (Casey Anthony is only 23.)

The state has been very tight-lipped since Caylee’s body was found a few months ago. It will be interesting to see what new evidence has been uncovered which they believe warrants execution.

Felonies, Violent Crimes

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under Florida Criminal Law News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.