Lessons From the Bench: Belvin Perry, Jr. on Casey Anthony

Belvin Perry Jr. is now an attorney at Morgan & Morgan, but at one point the former chief judge presided over one of the most high-profile cases in Florida and the nation: The controversial Casey Anthony trial, which in 2011 saw the Florida woman tried and ultimately found not guilty for the death of her daughter Caylee.

Here, Perry looks back at that trial and talks about how he thinks the case should have played out.

Transcript:

"Well, one of the first things, I think more emphasis should have been placed on Casey Anthony’s actions the day that the child went missing — the day that the child allegedly died.

Another thing that should have occurred was the state should have explained in their closing arguments that if you did not believe that the state had proved the charge of murder in the first degree, that Ms. Anthony was guilty of second-degree murder and/or manslaughter. By not making those arguments, the state basically gave the jury a 'take it or leave it' ultimatum: Either take first-degree murder or don’t do anything else.

So those were two major components that I think they should have emphasized. Day One, missing child, her behavior was not consistent with someone that knew that their child was either missing or dead."