The sensational acquittal of Casey Anthony sparked outrage across the U.S. as angry spectators compared the trial’s outcome to the infamous verdict in the OJ Simpson case.
With the 25-year-old defendant poised to walk free tomorrow morning and sell her story for millions, commentators savaged the jury for failing to find her guilty of the murder of her daughter Caylee.
Marcia Clark, the prosecutor in the OJ Simpson case said that the jury’s decision was ‘far more shocking’ than when the athlete was cleared in 1995.
Former Michigan Prosecutor Carl Marlinga said the verdict was: ‘Like the OJ Simpson case – a clear failure of the jury system.’
‘Just because we say the jury system we have is the best, that doesn’t make it perfect.’
Meanwhile TV presenter and legal expert Nancy Grace, who has been one of the most prominent analysts of the case, said ‘the devil was dancing’ after the jury returned not guilty verdicts.
The single mother has already been inundated with lucrative offers of book, film and even porn deals, but no firm deals have yet been struck to tell Anthony’s story, which has gripped and fascinated a nation.
A jury of seven woman and five men took ten hours to clear her of charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter of a child.
Anthony smiled with delight as she was cleared of the murder of Caylee, after one of the most controversial verdicts in recent history.
Hundreds of people outside the Orange County Courtroom in Orlando, Florida, gasped yesterday as the verdict was made public.