Why Did Casey Anthony Kill Her Daughter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Why Did Casey Anthony Kill Her Daughter - Essay Example By Tuesday, July 12, there were 325,283 tweets about the same topic – 64% disagreed with the verdict while 35% were neutral (Varma). Outside the courthouse, people cried in frustration – there were very few who were not surprised with the results. A majority already made up their mind – Casey Anthony killed her daughter, and it was unjust to let her off. Why do people think Casey Anthony is guilty? What were the evidences against her? These are just some of the questions that I hope to address in this paper. I believe that Casey Anthony committed this heinous crime because of the evidences (though circumstantial) show that there is no other person with a motive to kill Caylee. How can a mother kill her own child (or children, in certain cases)? Before Casey Anthony, there was Mary Ann Cotton (Times Magazine), Marybeth Tinning (Bettman), Diane Downs (Howell) and Susan Smith (S.C. Department of Corrections). Of course, there were others after her, but the point is that mothers who kill their own children are not uncommon. In a book entitled Mothers Who Kill Their Children: Understanding the Acts of Moms from Susan Smith to the â€Å"Prom Mom†, it was mentioned that â€Å"infanticide is as old as human society itself†¦no culture is immune† (Meyer, Cheryl and Oberman, Michelle 1). ... Often, these are committed by mothers whose circumstances prevent them from parenting their children. They are deliberate acts and would require premeditation. There is no single factor that prompts to commit such crimes, and there are no one has been able to develop an intervention that will prevent them from happening again. Research shows that contemporary infanticide and filicide are fueled not only by poverty and isolation, but also â€Å"by demographic shifts in family structure and by a rise in substance abuse† (Meyer, Cheryl and Oberman, Michelle 10). A research published by two French psychiatrists showed that infanticide due to a mental illnes, now known as postpartum psychosis. Modern studies showed that one or two of every one thousand women who give birth are affected by postpartum psychosis. The illness is â€Å"characterized by a dramatic break with reality, accompanied by a ‘grossly impaired ability to function, usually because of hallucinations or delus ions’† (Meyer, Cheryl and Oberman, Michelle 12). It is typically a brief episode and will disappear a few months after childbirth. Because Caylee Anthony was already two years old at the time of her death, postpartum psychosis is not a valid reason. Moreover, Casey Anthony had to undergo psychological testing as a routine procedure and state psychologists showed that she was fit to stand for trial and that she was not suffering from any mental illness. Other patterns found in modern infanticide and filicides are connected with â€Å"sociocultural and economic influences such as disability, substance abuse, and unresolved trauma combined with the pressures associated with being the sole