"A picture is worth a thousand words" is a saying that has been around seemingly forever. It has never been more relevant than in the riveting Casey Anthony murder trial in Orlando.
Women are society's child bearers and nurturers. Hence there is a natural sensitivity within most women regarding children and the necessity of caring for their welfare.
Men are not excluded from such sensitivity. Fathers of young girls or those who have been in that position in the past or had friends or relatives who were can readily identify with the Anthony case and its underpinnings.
Nancy Grace, television commentator, mother, and former prosecutor, has been intensely covering the Casey Anthony case from the outset. She recently pinpointed what makes it such an attention riveter. Grace stated that all it takes is one look at Caylee Anthony and she grabs your heart.
Who can argue with that? Take a significant step forward from Grace's observation and observe the one picture that has been shown endlessly on her CNN Headline News program as well as other networks, the one that viewers cannot get out of their minds.
The picture shows a sexually alluring Casey Anthony bedecked in tight-fitting blouse and shorts at a nightclub cavorting provocatively on the floor with a comparably attired dancer. The scene was from a "hot bod" contest in which a party loving Casey was delighted to participate.
The element that jolted those who saw this picture was its timing. This was during the period that Caylee was missing. Interested observers reflected on how they would have reacted had a daughter or family member been in the identical situation confronting Casey Anthony at that time.
In addition to the picture, a strong statement of Casey's then current priorities, were not enough there was a good deal more. Casey felt so strongly about her hedonistic, party girl activities of that period that she decided to have recorded on her body a statement reflecting her attitude.
Ms. Anthony visited a local tattoo parlor. She received an inscription of "bella vita" which, translated from Italian, means beautiful life. Its symbolism is hedonistic, reflecting a desire to party, for the good life, for living in the most joyously selfish way for one's own pleasure.
After the tattoo inscriber, who testified at the trial, finished his work a joyous and carefree Casey Anthony remained within the prevailing Italian theme. She ordered pizza and the tattoo parlor group partied.
The store's owner repeated the statement made by other prosecution witnesses who interacted with Anthony during a period when her daughter was missing, stating that she appeared carefree. None of these friends and acquaintances heard anything about travails involving her daughter.
To extend the Italian theme even more, it has been said by some television trial commentators that lead defense attorney Jose Baez and his team has developed what could be termed a spaghetti defense. This consists of throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping that some of it sticks. Spaghetti symbolically sticking to the wall embodies planting sufficient reasonable doubt in jurors' minds to acquit Casey Anthony.
Given the task the defense has accepted, a spaghetti defense becomes understandable. What makes this or any defense Herculean is the self-damnation into which Casey Anthony threw herself highlighted by hot bod photos and a bella vita pronouncement at a time when her young daughter was missing.
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