Casey Anthony: Florida appeals court sets aside 2 of Casey Anthony's convictions

casey1_20110718091843_JPG

Casey Anthony leaves jail

Advertisement

Posted: 01/25/2013

ORLANDO, FL - A Florida appellate court on Friday set aside two of the four convictions Casey Anthony faced for lying to detectives during the investigation into her missing 2-year-old daughter.

Judges on the 5th District Court of Appeals agreed with Anthony's attorneys that two of the charges constituted double jeopardy, or being convicted or punished more than once for the same crime.

"We cannot conclude that the Legislature intended to authorize separate punishment for each false statement made during a single interview," the judges said in their ruling.

Anthony was acquitted of killing Caylee in 2011. Jurors convicted her of four counts of lying to detectives, and her attorneys appealed those convictions. Anthony was sentenced to time served for the misdemeanors.

She was sentenced to a year of probation after her release from jail for an unrelated case. Her whereabouts have been kept secret since she was released from state supervision last year.

Jurors determined that Anthony lied when she told detectives that she worked at Universal Studios, that she had left Caylee with a babysitter who kidnapped the girl, that she had told two friends about her daughter's disappearance and that she had received a phone call from Caylee.

The appeals judges ruled that the trial court was correct to allow Anthony's statements to detectives to be used during her murder trial.  Anthony's attorneys had argued that she was in police custody at the time and hadn't been read her Miranda rights. They also had argued that Anthony should have been convicted of only a single count of lying because of the double jeopardy concern.

But the judges said there was a break in time between two interviews Anthony had with detectives.

"Where there is a sufficient temporal break between two alleged criminal acts so as to have allowed a defendant time to pause, reflect and form a new criminal intent, a separate criminal episode will have occurred," the judges said.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

  • Comments
  • Your Region News

Click on the region names in the map below to see news from that region.

West Valley Phoenix Metro Southeast Valley Northeast Valley Northern Arizona Central/Southern AZ
advertisement

RIGHT NOW: Top Stories


  1. PD: Officer injured in hit-and-run

    PD: Officer injured in hit-and-run

    A Phoenix police officer has been seriously injured in a morning hit-and-run crash and authorities are searching for the suspect.

  2. PHX firefighter dies after accident

    PHX firefighter dies after accident

    A Phoenix firefighter has died overnight after a horrific accident at a fire scene in the West Valley Saturday evening.

  3. PHOTOS: Opening Day at Salt River

    PHOTOS: Opening Day at Salt River

    Several people spent the day in the sun celebrating opening day at the Salt River.

    • FORECAST: Triple-digits back soon

      FORECAST: Triple-digits back soon

      Temperatures today will be right where they should be on average for this time of year but this trend won't last long. Find out when the triple-digits move back in!

    • Feel lucky? Powerball numbers are out

      Feel lucky? Powerball numbers are out

      Officials estimate the jackpot at $590.5 million.

      • Homeless get help creating new lives

        Homeless get help creating new lives

        Tami Jackson collects donated furniture and gives it to families getting back on their feet after homelessness.