Casey Anthony sentenced to four years in prison.

In yet another insane twist in the Casey Anthony trial, an attorney for the defense argued this morning that all four counts of providing false information should be compiled into one offense, based on precedents set by prior cases heard in Florida.  The defense suggested that the false statements Casey Anthony made took place over the course of one interview without a “temporal break” and in the service of one single criminal intent.  Therefore, they argued, sentencing Casey Anthony on all four counts of providing false information would submit her to double jeopardy, or being punished more than once for the same crime.

The prosecution in turn asserted that Casey Anthony did have enough time in between her many lies (“not just the ones charged”) to form a “temporal break” and compared Anthony’s case and its sentencing potential to that of a sexual abuse trial, where different sex acts during a continuous violation are broken up into multiple charges without risk of double jeopardy.

Judge Belvin Perry determined that Casey Anthony’s lies were told individually, and therefore sentenced her to serve one year in Orange County jail and to pay $1,000 fine for each of the four counts, with credit for time previously served.  Anthony has already served more than two years in jail, and pundits are suggesting that she could be released in as soon as a month from now.

The public outrage over the outcome of Casey Anthony’s trial has been palpable since Tuesday, and this lenient sentencing will do nothing to squelch that fervor.  Many pundits have argued that the prosecution overreached by making hers a death penalty case, suggesting that she might have been convicted on manslaughter charges.  Members of the prosecution have said that the jury had lesser charges available to them and could have convicted her on Tuesday if they felt it necessary.

Prior to the sentencing, commentators on FOX went on at length about Casey Anthony’s appearance today, noting her “relaxed look” and long hair, as well as her “smiles from ear to ear” in anticipation of being released.  Anthony looked serious while her sentence was being deliberated, but prior to the sentencing, her flippant joy at being released was grotesque.  It’s just not possible that a mother who was grieving about her child’s death could be so glib.  I don’t know if Casey Anthony is solely responsible for the death of Caylee Anthony or not, but I do know that she’s a pathological liar, a sociopath who feels no remorse or sad feelings about the death of her daughter, and if you ask me, that’s a crime in and of itself.

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