Burn, Casey, Burn

"Burn, Casey, Burn" is all I seem to hear when the Casey Anthony case surfaces in conversation. In case you are unaware, Casey Anthony is the twenty-four year old women indicted for murdering her three-year-old daughter, Kaylee Anthony, in June of 2008. Before we begin, let's all quickly come to truly understand the word "indict". An indictment is a formal accusation brought upon a citizen by a body of government. An indictment can only be issued after a Grand Jury of no-less than twenty-five peers have found enough reasonable evidence to try a case. This means that, presently, there is enough evidence to contest prosecutive claims against Casey Anthony, or conversely convict her of murder in the first degree.

We must all remain machinists to the constitution as that is how it was formally intended to be executed. I've made this claim before -- the claim that an autonomous agent, programmed to execute legislation within the confines of the Constitution would be the only fair way to go about a process like this (JUDGEBOT 5000 coming soon). But the fact is, we, HUMAN BEINGS, are left up to interpret legislation as we wish. We apply emotion, religious perspective and personal experience to entirely complex cases, when we are just asked to take an objective look. We get angry and wish death, or worse -- a life's imprisonment so that the accused 'may suffer'. We demand blood; Publicus ultio ultionis under the writ of law, when we are asked to offer a open-ear.

The truth is that, although we like to pretend for peers that we understand all of the elements of this case, we do not. How is it fair to wish death upon the accused if formal accusation is the only proven extent of guilt? That's right! I'll be the first to admit that Casey Anthony does not appear stable and, at cursory glance, evidence mounted against Anthony suggests guilt. But we must, as the constitution demands, find a chance to offer a fair trial -- both publicly and judicially. The framer's meant to constitutionally prohibit fire starting, shovel wielding mobs from carrying out their own convoluted intentions on neighborhood villains. What about this is so different?

Don't get me wrong! I'm angry too! This is a disgusting crime, but the facts therein remain unclear. How do I know Casey Anthony is guilty? Truly, aside from raw intuition there is no way to be sure. How can I be sure that poor Kaylee isn't just the product of retribution by some angry third party? Admittedly, there is no way. So, I will wait until the moment that a formal charge has been forged by jury; the constitutional machine at work. I put my trust not in the hands of the legal system, but in the conceptual ideology of our forefathers.We needn't ask for bill of rights amendments or for radical change, but rather, demand principled constitutional execution.

So next time you're out and about and the topic of "raging, murderous lunatics" comes about, just remember; take a step back, put the pitchfork down and don't sentence the uncharged with eternal condemnation. Be patient and be informed. The Constitution was agreed upon so that we, Puritan successors, would never burn another 'witch' again.