DCF Contradicts Casey Anthony Verdict

The twelve page reported submitted by the Florida Department of Children and Families on Thursday, August 11, demonstrated the injustice of the verdict rendered in the state's case against Casey Anthony.  It does not advocate for Casey Anthony's complicity in the murder or manslaughter of Caylee Anthony.  It, nonetheless, acknowledges that the little girl was murdered and lays the responsibility to protect her at Casey's feet. 

They are not a law enforcement agency but as experts in mistreatment of children, they make it clear  that the jurors should have found Casey guilty of the child abuse charge, at a minimum.  "The mother is the caregiver responsible for the verified maltreatments of death, threatened harm and failure to protect."

The agency concluded that "the actions or lack of action by the alleged perpetrator [Casey Anthony] ultimately resulted or contributed to the death of the child/vic... While the cause of death is not known, the Department concludes the death to be as a result of abuse or neglect based on the manner of death by the ME [Medical Examiner], and the state of the body upon recovery...

"It is concluded that the mother's failure to act during those 31 days, ultimately resulted in her inability to protect her child from harm."

Nothing can be done to correct the injustice committed against Caylee Anthony when her mother was acquitted of the child abuse charge.  We have to accept that verdict.  We do not have to respect it, despite what many commentators have said.  The bottom line is that the criminal justice system, run by human beings, is flawed because humans are flawed.  The only way we can minimize the wrongs committed in our name is if we look at verdicts of wrongful acquittal and wrongful conviction, analysze the mistakes and work to not repeat them.

Meanwhile, Casey Anthony has been declared the most hated person in the country by a recently released poll.  94% of respondents familiar with her name put Casey Anthony at the top of the list beating out Octomom and Paris Hilton with ease.

Love Was in the Air

 Part Three of a three part series: How I Spent the Last Weekend in July

I've often been to weddings where the couple was clearly the happiest duo on the planet.  Seldom, though, do you attend a marriage ceremony and reception where the good vibes radiate through the whole crowd.  The ceremony joining Pete Fanning and Anne Lavigne together did.

Ex-spouses were friendly, New Yorkers and Texans smiled at one another, people from 6 weeks old to 86 years old danced, hugged and laughed through a wonderful afternoon and evening out in the Virginia countryside, with the Blue Ridge mountains in the background.

The whole weekend was a blast, reuniting our three grown children, Liz, Ivy and Pete--the girls looking as if they coordinated their colors for the rehearsal dinner, although they swear they didn't.

Then there were the three cousins, Chris, Jason and Pete, who once spent endless hours in our family room, filling it knee-deep with empty Chili Willie wrappers, posed before the service with my husband Wayne.

And last but not least, I got to spend some time with my two fabulous grandchildren, Ben and Cameron.



It was a wonderful weekend, gone too fast, but filled with memories that will last a lifetime.  Join me in a toast to Pete and Anne--may their love wildness never die.

My Past Is a Pile of Rubble

Part Two of a three part series: How I Spent the Last Weekend in July

On this spot, before last weekend, a plain brick building stood.  It was the home of radio station WWOD AM and FM in Lynchburg, Virginia.  The structure was built originally to be a television station but was re-purposed as a radio station, creating a strangely large on-air studio made to hold the bulky cameras needed for live television.

I was once the Advertising Copywriter and Traffic Manager for this station.  At that time, the format was alternative rock.  It went through a number of programming changes until it reached the point of dead air a few years ago.    And now it's gone.

Visiting a city that you left twenty years earlier is always jarring--so much has changed and yet some things remain undisturbed with the passage of time.  I had always expected to see the radio station sitting on Mimosa Drive.  Seeing it as a pile of rubble gave me a keen awareness of the passage of time and the inevitability of change.

WWOD: a part of my past, a piece of my heart.--my past, a pile of rubble. 

Coming soon, Part Three of How I Spent the Last Weekend in July: A Love Fest in the Countryside

Turning My Twitter into a Flock of Angry Birds

Part One of a three part series: How I Spent the Last Weekend in July

I made a really stupid mistake.  I received a direct message on Twitter that read: "You need to read this, really bad stuff being said about you" followed by a link.

My first reaction was the intelligent one--the one I should have taken to heart: It is another scam.  Don't click that link.  But, then, I over-thought the problem and went down stupid path.

You see, there have been some folks out there spreading the rumor that I paid Casey Anthony when I wrote MOMMY'S LITTLE GIRL, my book about the death of Caylee Marie Anthony.  It is not true but has been floating around the internet since before my book was released in November 2009.  It's popped up in chat groups and in blogs.  I've received a number of emails castigating me for writing the book.  I thought it was very possible that the sender of the direct message was warning me that I needed to go to another place on the internet to set the record straight once again.

I also thought about all the Mac users out there who have been telling me that I needed to switch to Mac because Mac is safer.  Getting a virus or malware through a Mac was not possible, they said.  Since I was traveling with my iPad and iPhone and no computer, my ridiculous line of logic was that since they are Apple products, I'd been safe checking out the link with one of those devices.

Essentially, curiousity got the best of me.  I clicked that stupid link on my iPad while sitting in the airport waiting for a delayed flight.  Then when disaster struck, I could not find a way to change my password on either device.  A few of you made suggestions that didn't work and then it was time to board the plane for my two and a half hour flight.

I had not been able to respond with a direct message on Twitter to those who wrote to me using that method since Twitter was blocking my direct messages because I had already sent out my daily quota of direct messages.  It was not really me, but there was not a thing I could do about it.

Finally, I made it home, changed my password and am now secure once again.

If anyone out there clicked on the link on a direct message from me, please immediately change your password and end this devious chain reaction.  I apologize for putting all of you at risk.  In the future, I promise to let my common sense trump my curiousity.

I hope you will, too.

Coming soon, Part Two of How I Spent the Last Weekend in July: My Past is a Pile of Rubble.