What's Next for Casey?

 On July 5, 2011 the world was stunned to hear the verdict of the Casey Anthony trial.  After 10 hours of deliberations, the jury reached the conclusion that she is NOT GUILTY of killing her two-year old daughter, Caylee.  This decision has not solved the mystery of this little girl’s death.  Rather, it has sparked several more questions.  If Casey didn’t kill her daughter, who did?  What made the jury decide that her involvement was not beyond a reasonable doubt?  Will there be justice for Caylee? What is Casey Anthony going to do now?

This last question is especially intriguing to me.  What is next for Casey?  I don’t think even Casey has considered that question before today.  She has spent the last three and a half years in prison facing this trial.  Although she was found guilty of lying to investigators, the penalty she faces has mostly been served.  She will be free to live her life, go out to clubs, even find a new man and possibly have another child.  The last thought makes me shudder.

So Casey got away with murder.  Or did she?  The OJ Simpson case shows insight into what happens after a miracle conviction.  OJ was sued by Nicole’s and Ron’s family, forced to pay millions of dollars, and eventually got arrested for trying to steal back his own memorabilia.  He is the constant butt of jokes and still perceived by most as a murderer.  Even though he is not in jail, his quality of life has been severely impacted.

What is Casey going to do?  Are her parents going to allow her back into their home?  She accused her father and brother of molesting her, as well as accusing her father of covering up a murder.  The relationship between the Anthony family is obviously strained.

Will she ever find a job?  No ethical business would want to hire a perceived murderer.  She is also a known liar.  It is possible that she could profit from this situation through movie deals, books, interviews, etc.  However, she will not be as successful as other headliners because what she did was wrong.  People will not want to give their hard-earned money to a woman who killed her child.

Is anyone going to want to be friends with her?  Casey’s life will no doubt spur several paparazzi photos and tabloid gossip.  She will probably be bombarded with people trying to attach to her notoriety.  However, none of them will actually support and nurture her.  They are only going to use her.  Casey is already unstable without a group of users as an accelerant.

Who would want to date her?  Unfortunately, she is attractive and famous so there are likely to be scumbags that would go for the attention.  But no decent man would want to be with a pathological liar who killed her daughter.  I certainly couldn’t imagine wanting to have a child with her.

Can she go about living her life without the constant condemnation of ordinary citizens?  The people are outraged and angered by this decision.  I am sure she will need security protection.  Even years from now, she will still be marked and recognized.  She might as well have a scarlet “A” on her chest.

Will Casey be affected by the guilt?  Only a sociopath could handle the thought of getting away with murder—and of their own child at that.  Perhaps the remorse will tear her down emotionally.

Casey’s future may include some benefits of which she does not deserve—the most basic being her freedom.  However, her life is not one we would envy.  Her family cannot look at her the same.  She will have no true friends or lovers.  And she has to live everyday with the guilt of knowing what she did.

Only time will tell the story of Casey Anthony.  But I believe in karma and I believe she will get what she deserves in one way or another.  She may not have been legally convicted, but she will serve her sentence.