Casey Anthony is free.
From the Associated Press:
Casey Anthony was freed from a Florida jail early Sunday, 12 days after she was acquitted of murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee in a verdict that drew furious responses and even threats from people across the U.S. who had followed the case with rapt attention.
Wearing a pink Polo T-shirt and blue jeans, Anthony left the jail at 12:14 a.m. with her attorney, Jose Baez. After three years behind bars, Anthony was given $537.68 in cash from her jail account and escorted outside by two sheriff's deputies armed with semi-automatic rifles. Neither Anthony nor Baez said anything to reporters and protesters gathered outside.
Anthony, looking somber with her eyes cast downward, said "thank you" to a jailer in the few seconds it took to escort her to the waiting SUV.
"It is my hope that Casey Anthony can receive the counseling and treatment she needs to move forward with the rest of her life," Baez said in a statement released to reporters.
News helicopters briefly tracked the SUV through Orlando's streets, but she quickly vanished from public view.
"This release had an unusual amount of security so, therefore, in that sense, it would not be a normal release," Orange County Jail spokesman Allen Moore said. "We have made every effort to not provide any special treatment for her. She's been treated like every other inmate."
Moore said there were no known threats received at the jail. Officials had a number of contingency plans in place, including plans in case shots were fired as she was being released.
Contingency plans in case shots were fired?
People need to get a grip.
When one believes justice has not been served, it can be extremely disturbing. However, violent outbursts are not appropriate reactions.
...As midnight approached, upward of 100 spectators had gathered outside the jail's booking and release center, where plastic orange barricades had been erected. The crowd included about a half-dozen, sign-carrying protesters who had gathered despite a drenching thunderstorm earlier. Onlookers had varied reactions to her release from the jail, where seven or eight deputies in bullet-proof vests patrolled the area. At least one officer carried an assault weapon and about five officers patrolled on horseback.
"She is safer in jail than she is out here," said Mike Quiroz, who drove from Miami to spend his 22nd birthday outside the jail. "She better watch her butt. She is known all over the world."
Lamar Jordan said he felt a pit in his stomach when he saw Anthony walking free.
"The fact that she is being let out, the fact that it is her child and she didn't say what happened, made me sick," Jordan said.
Not all of those who gathered condemned the 25-year-old.
"I'm for Casey," said Kizzy Smith, of Orlando. "She was proven innocent. At the end of the day, Caylee is at peace. We're the ones who are in an uproar."
Some people are absolutely obsessed with this case. It's a little weird.
Whenever something like this becomes a big TV event, I cringe. It becomes entertainment and the lines between reality and fictional TV drama blur. I view it as exploitation, with the media profiting from crime.
I'm probably one of the few people in the country who didn't follow this case at all. I wasn't interested. I certainly care that a child was murdered, but I didn't want to get wrapped up in the soap opera aspect.
Of course, I'm aware that many believe Casey Anthony killed her sweet little girl, and she got away with murder. Many consider her to be a terrible mother and a terrible human being.
If that's true, that Casey Anthony killed her daughter, Caylee, she's not really free.
I believe justice will be done eventually. Maybe not in this life, but eventually.
Here's raw video of Anthony's release from jail:
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