Will dehumanizing Caylee backfire?

BritsKate

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My first thread so mods if not appropriate please delete. ;) Thanks!

Magpie from the Hinky Meter has been sharing her courtroom observations. During Spitz's testimony one juror remarked to another that he kept referring to Caylee as Casey.

http://www.thehinkymeter.com/2011/0...ase-magpie-reports-0617-and-061811/#more-7232

We've heard Caylee called Casey lots of times which I think is an honest mistake given the closeness of the names but she is often referred to as 'that child', 'the child' and today was even called a sub-adult by Dr. Rodriguez (scientific term I know but this is still a baby emotionally.)

Obviously the DT needs to 'humanize' Casey but IMO they are doing it by dehumanizing the true victim. Do you think this strategy will backfire come deliberations?
 
My first thread so mods if not appropriate please delete. ;) Thanks!

Magpie from the Hinky Meter has been sharing her courtroom observations. During Spitz's testimony one juror remarked to another that he kept referring to Caylee as Casey.

http://www.thehinkymeter.com/2011/0...ase-magpie-reports-0617-and-061811/#more-7232

We've heard Caylee called Casey lots of times which I think is an honest mistake given the closeness of the names but she is often referred to as 'that child', 'the child' and today was even called a sub-adult by Dr. Rodriguez (scientific term I know but this is still a baby emotionally.)

Obviously the DT needs to 'humanize' Casey but IMO they are doing it by dehumanizing the true victim. Do you think this strategy will backfire come deliberations?

I agree with you but I am not sure whether it is a strategy for the courtroom or if this is how these doctors disconnect from the awful reality of what they see.
It is not just okay for them to feel for victims, it is crucial if they are to really understand the whole story and be able to convey it convincingly to a jury.
 
I agree with you but I am not sure whether it is a strategy for the courtroom or if this is how these doctors disconnect from the awful reality of what they see.
It is not just okay for them to feel for victims, it is crucial if they are to really understand the whole story and be able to convey it convincingly to a jury.

Not just the doctors though - or the scientific testimony - we've heard the same from the DT as well.

Dr. G though a doctor managed to emote over how this child was discarded, kwim? If the defense were smart they would appear just as upset that a baby was so grossly mistreated. That a baby is dead - whatever the reason.

Instead she becomes 'that and the' while Casey is portrayed as the victim. I think it may work against them not to at least appear to be more compassionate to the fact a child is gone. JMHO
 
I believe they are there to do a job and they have to do it right with using the correct terminology and such.
 
Not just the doctors though - or the scientific testimony - we've heard the same from the DT as well.

Dr. G though a doctor managed to emote over how this child was discarded, kwim? If the defense were smart they would appear just as upset that a baby was so grossly mistreated. That a baby is dead - whatever the reason.
Instead she becomes 'that and the' while Casey is portrayed as the victim. I think it may work against them not to at least appear to be more compassionate to the fact a child is gone. JMHO

Exactly, and particularly given the way they claim Caylee died and was discarded by GA/RK.
As Dr. G noted, it is not just the scientific evidence that leads her to manner of death, it is the surrounding circumstances.
 
My first thread so mods if not appropriate please delete. ;) Thanks!

Magpie from the Hinky Meter has been sharing her courtroom observations. During Spitz's testimony one juror remarked to another that he kept referring to Caylee as Casey.

http://www.thehinkymeter.com/2011/0...ase-magpie-reports-0617-and-061811/#more-7232

We've heard Caylee called Casey lots of times which I think is an honest mistake given the closeness of the names but she is often referred to as 'that child', 'the child' and today was even called a sub-adult by Dr. Rodriguez (scientific term I know but this is still a baby emotionally.)

Obviously the DT needs to 'humanize' Casey but IMO they are doing it by dehumanizing the true victim. Do you think this strategy will backfire come deliberations?

I agree with your post, overall.

But the bolded part I wonder about. I saw a post in the trial thread saying the witness was referring to bugs, as 'sub-adult' is an entymology term.
 
The defence team is putting graphic images (some mental)of Caylee out there subjecting the jury to some pretty ugly stuff.

I do not feel the stated proved murder or that the duct tape killed her but Baez is really no joke winning it for them.

It makes since he put his experts first and he will make Caylee and Casey human in the end I suppose closing with his soft witness's.

But wow, The jury hearing what they have been and then watching ICA. Really she should have read some acting books or something before this trial. Or shave her head like Britany spears did when she went nuts.

So as I feel right now I do think the defence will get their client convicted.

And you guys didnt like him!:floorlaugh:
 
I agree with your post, overall.

But the bolded part I wonder about. I saw a post in the trial thread saying the witness was referring to bugs, as 'sub-adult' is an entymology term.

No, he was referring to Caylee.

He was talking about the recovery of the remains, in the wooded area and how many more bones a child has compared to an adult.

"Because they are still in the stage of development, each of their bones are made of individual components.

It's certainly difficult to deal with the recovery of the remains of a sub-adult, since there are multiple bones."


Just before the 11 minute mark in this video:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Yb9PUpvlRM&feature=channel_video_title"]YouTube - ‪Casey Anthony: Murder Trial - Part 1 - 6/18/11‬‏[/ame]
 
I think JA will make sure Caylee is humanized in the closing statements
 
I'm not sure if it is strategy or not but it was driving me nuts to hear Dr. Spitz during testimony say "open the head" (referring to Caylee's remains/autopsy). Repeatedly! I wanted to slap him lol. Just to cold and clinical for my liking.

Moo
 
Not just the doctors though - or the scientific testimony - we've heard the same from the DT as well.

Dr. G though a doctor managed to emote over how this child was discarded, kwim? If the defense were smart they would appear just as upset that a baby was so grossly mistreated. That a baby is dead - whatever the reason.

Instead she becomes 'that and the' while Casey is portrayed as the victim. I think it may work against them not to at least appear to be more compassionate to the fact a child is gone. JMHO

:hand::hand::hand:
 
Dr. G though a doctor managed to emote over how this child was discarded, kwim? If the defense were smart they would appear just as upset that a baby was so grossly mistreated. That a baby is dead - whatever the reason.

Especially gut wrenching when you consider that Dr G's testimony was based on her findings from Dec 2008 and she's done many, many autopsies since then. She remained professional during her testimony but the sadness of what she was talking about came through loud and clear. IMO.
 
Personally I think that the defence is making a mistake by opening their defense with all the gory, harsh details of decomposition.
What you get is: Caylee = dumped as if she were a piece of trash. Caylee = skull with remains of hair (hairmat, really) that had losened from it and ducttape tangled in it. Caylee = maggots and flies festering on her little, dead body. Caylee = stench of death. You get the picture - and it is HORRID!
And her giggling and smiling mother from time to time. It is just insane! Why is she laughing in the midst of those horrible testimonies?
I think that first impressions last. A good defense would have opened with something less graphic. I think this WILL backfire on Casey and her defence!
 
Personally I think that the defence is making a mistake by opening their defense with all the gory, harsh details of decomposition.
What you get is: Caylee = dumped as if she were a piece of trash. Caylee = skull with remains of hair (hairmat, really) that had losened from it and ducttape tangled in it. Caylee = maggots and flies festering on her little, dead body. Caylee = stench of death. You get the picture - and it is HORRID!
And her giggling and smiling mother from time to time. It is just insane! Why is she laughing in the midst of those horrible testimonies?
I think that first impressions last. A good defense would have opened with something less graphic. I think this WILL backfire on Casey and her defence!

ITA - particularly about Dr. Huntington's gratuitous pig "research". I'm sure the jury will never forgive him for permanently ruining whatever it was they ate for lunch that day. Simply describing an experiment done with pigs would have perhaps distanced the jury from whatever point he was trying to make - but showing them a horrible graphic in full color was completely stupid. They already know what happened to Caylee's skeletonized remains - the SA tried to be only as graphic as necessary - and certainly did not provide pictures that were either not part of the crime scene or to illustrate a specific point regarding her case.

I think it was a waste, HUGE waste for the DT to not factor in that any talk of death and decomp in front of that jury will not somehow relate in their minds to the victim and how she was abused and disrespected in life as well as afterward. The clinical distancing techniques used by the DT doctors (and of course they know that is how they testify when they speak on behalf of a defendant who is not yet convicted) or any other experts do not work on a jury at all if you contrast that with vivid 4-color photographs of something most of us don't have the stomach to study, much less see. And I agree that the state will do an effective job of bringing this all back to little Caylee.
 

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