5 lessons from the Casey Anthony murder trial

A Florida jury finds the much-maligned mom not guilty of the murder of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. What can we learn from this high-profile acquittal?

Casey Anthony reacts Tuesday to being found not guilty of murder: The high-profile trial and verdict has many Americans criticizing the justice system.
(Image credit: Pool/Getty Images)

For many of the Americans compulsively following the televised murder trial of Casey Anthony, a Florida mother accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, the verdict handed down on Tuesday was a stunner: Not guilty on all but four counts of lying to the police. Anthony faces up to four years in prison when she's sentenced on Wednesday, though she's already served roughly three years. Prosecutors had argued that Anthony, 25, drugged, suffocated, and discarded her daughter so she could resume a boisterous social life. The unconvinced jury reached its unanimous 12-0 decision in a short 11 hours of deliberation. What can we learn from this high-profile trial, and its verdict? Here, five lessons:

1. Our criminal justice system works

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