Casey Anthony Could Still Face Death Penalty for Caylee's Murder

by Amy Judd | May 11, 2010 at 10:40 am

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Casey Anthony's Appeal to Take the Death Penalty Off the Options in the Caylee Anthony Murder Case Has Been Denied

The death penalty is still a consideration for Casey Anthony in the murder trial of her daughter Caylee Anthony after a judge dismissed arguments over the death penalty. Chief Judge Belvin Perry made the ruling that said Casey Anthony had failed to prove a gender bias against her in the case.

The argument was that when a mother is accused of murdering a child, the defense has to establish that she was ultimately a good mother, or their case is lost. Elizabeth Rapaport, a New Mexico law professor was called as a expert for Anthony's defense.

"(Jurors) will be antagonistic if they conclude she wasn't a good mother and that bleeds into whether she was a good woman, a woman who wasn't scantily clad, sleeping with men, wasn't disreputable, and it's not relevant to if this woman killed this particular child."

If a mother is perceived to be 'deviant' like Casey Anthony has already, then it becomes hard for the jurors to separate that from the criminal charges.

Anthony's defense had said, in general, there is a gender bias in prosecutors seeking the death penalty when a mother is accused of killing her child.

Casey Anthony is still in jail under the charge of first-degree murder in the death of daughter Caylee Anthony whose remains were found December 2008. Casey Anthony has pleaded not guilty.