The Verdict

Posted on by Thor

It was the start of a highly contested battle. In the morning I went for a run. I ran to close to a mail box and its metallic handle caught my T-shirt sleeve, ripping it. After writing several blog posts I decided to go downtown and surprise Terry by stopping by her office. Walking downtown I noticed the constant sound of helicopters. They were hovering by the courthouse and I realized that the Casey Anthony trial must have come to a close. I walked towards the courthouse. I knew that Brian Feldman had gotten into the courtroom so I texted him to find out what was going on inside. I didn’t know this at the time, but the verdict had been read several hours earlier. When I didn’t hear back from Brian, I turned off my cell phone.

A hot dog vendor next to the courthouse was arguing with a costomer at his stand. He said, “I can’t believe they found her not guilty of child neglect!” That was the moment when I knew the verdict. I saw a crowd of people outside the Bank of America building and I wondered what was up. News anchor Geraldo Rivera shuffled out of the crowd onto the street. A man rushed up to him and asked for a photo.

Across the street from the courthouse there was an empty lot full of news vans. I sat in the shadow of a fence and started sketching the channel 13 news crew. A female newscaster practiced for her report. Crowds of people rushed around shooting photos and home movies with their iPhones. A man walked by holding a sign that said “Murderer!” He raised it over his head pointing it towards the circus of news vans in the empty lot. The woman with him shouted out with a drawl, “Come out of there Geraldo!” She must have been angry about the verdict and blamed the messenger. Two bystanders shouted out “Hey Casey’s parents just got in that Black SUV!” The SUV drove off and they waved. The windows were tinted so I couldn’t see inside. An ant bit my hand and I flicked it off.

Terry and Amanda were meeting for Margaritas at Paxia. I decided to join them. As I walked away the sounds of the helicopters slowly dimmed. Here one day, gone one night.

Casey Anthony Case

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A little more than two years ago, when I first started doing a sketch a day, I found myself sketching at the damp uprooted woods where Caylee Anthony’s body was found. I also attended a memorial service in her honor at the First Baptist Church. For me the endless media coverage of the trial seems ridiculous in the face of the human tragedy that is being flaunted for profit.The empty lot across from the courthouse was over run with TV media trucks with their satellite disks pointing to the heavens. As I approached the site I bumped into Louise Bova who bikes past the courthouse every day on her way home. She pointed out that there were even more trucks parked in another empty lot across from where we stood.

I nestled myself in the shadow of the Bank of America building. In the courtyard behind me a musician was setting up the amplifiers for his guitar to sing to patrons at the bar. He began singing “Let it be” by John Lennon. For me the music was soothing, appropriate and somewhat comical relating to the scene spread out before me. A homeless man who I had just seen sleeping under an I-4 overpass walked on the sidewalk in front of the media trucks. He saw some trash and picked it up and put it in a trash basket attached to a light pole. Peter Murphy waved to me as he biked by. Moments later my phone vibrated and there was a tweet from Peter announcing that he had just seem me sketching. “Keep Orlando awesome” he tweeted.

To be honest I am not following the constant TV coverage of the trial. In the morning I asked a teacher who was watching all the TV courtroom drama what she thought. “Guilty” she said. There are lines of people that start forming at 4am and yesterday a fight broke out when someone tried to cut into the line. This kind of spectacle certainly doesn’t make Orlando look good. People keep suggesting I should sketch the trial. That would involve getting up at 4am and standing in line with those lunatics. I think not. If any media wants to issue me a press pass then I’ll be there in a heart beat.

As I sketched a tourist stood taking photos. He became curious in what I was doing. He told me his girlfriend used to live right next to the JonBenet Ramsey home. That was a case where a little girl who competed in beauty pageants disappeared. He was annoyed that such cases become a media circus while many other children go missing with hardly a headline and other children go hungry.

Caylee Makeshift Memorial

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On the day of Caylee’s memorial service at the First Baptist Church, an alternate memorial was being organized by Leonard Padilla, a California bounty hunter, at the site where Caylee’s remains were found. Padilla was banned from attending the service at the church by Cindy and George Anthony. Padilla had posted bond for Casey Anthony, Caylee’s mother, but later revoked it saying that Casey was not cooperating the the search for her child.
For some reason I felt ill at ease as I approached the site. This huge pile of toys, cards, flowers and signs decorated the area. The woods where Caylee’s body was found were stripped bare and all the refuge was heaved into a compost pile about five feet high. Already a few palmettos were sprouting back up to reclaim the crime scene.
An elementary school is just a half block from where I was sketching. School let out and a large group of about 12 students were walking home on the opposite side of the street. They became curious as to what I was sketching and surrounded me and fired off a barrage of questions. Some of them went up to a board and wrote condolences and thoughts. One of the youngest pointed at my sketch and asked, “Is that Caylee?” Some of the kids wanted to pose for me in front of the toys, but I convinced them that they should get home to there moms. One couple who visited the site informed me that they had driven from Pennsylvania to pay there respects. Several times people getting out of there cars asked me if it was alright to take pictures. It is as if they thought it was my job to guard the site. As one man said, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

abc News Truck

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This is a small taste of the media circus that set up camp outside the First Baptist Church for the Caylee Marie Anthony Memorial Service. The church set up a barricaded parking lot area specifically for all the media. Reporters could use the church as a backdrop for the live reports but all the footage from inside the service was supplied by the churches 2 TV cameras with a live feed outside to the waiting trucks. I have read that an estimated 1,200 people attended the service, but it seemed to me like far fewer showed up, perhaps 2-3 hundred. The inside of the church is truely cavernous however so this might be a false impression.

Caylee Marie Anthony Memorial Service

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I attended the Caylee Marie Anthony Memorial Service this morning at The First Baptist Church. Honestly, I decided to go when I heard on the news last night that there would be no video recording, photography or even cell phones allowed into the service. To get in I had to put my sketchbook , pens and brushes in a bin at the metal detectors. The ushers were pleasant and helpful, making everyone feel welcome. Some families bought there small children to the service. The childrens voices could be heard a varying times adding a subtle tone of playful innocence to the proceedings.
I was unprepared for how emotionally overwhelming the actual service was. It pointed to the Orlando communities strength in times of trouble. The feeling of love and compassion was palpable. Toward the end of the service the lights were dimmed and a video was shown called “Gone too Soon“. It was a masterfully edited tribute to Caylee’s short life. There is something sublime in the final shot as Caylee pulls back, and then is shrouded behind, a cloth window shade.
It was also hard not to be moved by the tearful words from George and Cindy Anthony. Cindy Anthony said “Caylee Marie has taught many to love a child they have never met.” “Let’s stop the negativity and speculation.” “Let’s stand up for our right to live in a world filled with hope and faith and love”. George said he wore a lavender shirt because it was Caylee’s favorite color. He also stated, “Do not form any judgments, because I tell you, you don’t want to be in any of our shoes. Casey deserves prayer, she deserves understanding, she deserves love.” The Anthony’s humble words were greeted by a thunderous standing ovation from a respectful crowd.
I hope the service helps the Anthony family and the community heal.