Chief Judge Belvin Perry tried to pick up the pace on Day 5 of jury selection on Friday, in the Casey Anthony first degree murder trial, but if he was hoping to have 12 jurors sworn, that did not happen.
At the end of the day, some 15 potential jurors had been questioned. Perry excused six, because he felt that they had already made up their minds on Casey’s guilt.
Juror # 1011 was also challenged by the defense and excused.
Convicted of a DUI misdemeanor five years ago, juror # 1011, initially didn’t think this was a crime and conveniently didn’t remember when initially questioned. He also did not remember he had written a movie review on serial killers quite recently and only recalled this fact when outed by the defense team.
While Perry denied excusing potential juror # 1011 for cause, the defense team used one of their ten peremptory challenges to have him excused.
As the inquiry unfolded, another potential juror # 1167 became ill, and Perry took the decision just after 11:00 am, to let the juror go home, possibly to return on Saturday for further inquiry.
The defense team, as they did on Day 4, probed potential jurors on what mitigating factors they would consider, should Casey be found guilty–her age at the time of the alleged crime, lack of maturity, history of sexual, verbal and emotional abuse and poor coping skills and more—no doubt laying the basis for their defense strategy.
Many court watchers believe that the defense will argue Casey was abused as a child by perhaps her father, George Anthony and possibly her brother, Lee Anthony.
In perhaps a strange twist, a new member, Rosalie Bolin, has joined the defense team. Bolin, who was a former investigator with the public defender’s office in Tampa, is billed as a mitigation specialist and is currently married to Oscar Ray Bolin, a serial killer on death row. He was convicted of murdering three women, ages 26, 25 and a 17-year-old high schooler.
On Saturday, 21 new potential jurors will be questioned. Perry has said that he will swear the first 12 that have been agreed to by the defense and prosecution, then move on to picking 8 alternates. There remain 19 challenges to potential jurors by both sides, the defense having already utilized one, to strike juror # 1011.
Perry hopes to have a jury seated with opening arguments set for May 17, in the Orange County Court. He has warned that, the longer jury selection goes on in Pinellas County, the greater the pre-trial exposure, making it harder for an impartial jury to be picked.
Saturday, May 14, 2011, Day 6 of jury selection, should be another long one in the Pinellas County Courthouse.
Casey Anthony is charged with murdering her two-year-old daughter, Caylee. She had initially claimed her daughter was kidnapped by a baby sitter, but that “story” was later debunked by her defense attorneys.
It is almost certain that factors such as sexual, verbal, and emotional abuse will loom large as part of the Casey defense strategy. How these dots will be connected to Caylee’s murder, is anyone’s guess.
