Casey Anthony appeared in an Orlando courtroom Thursday morning to be sentenced for four counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer. Before the sentencing, the defense argued that all four instances of providing false information were part of a single act, therefore Anthony should only be charged with one count of providing false information. The prosecution argued that because the false statements were given over a period of 12 hours they should be charged as separate counts.
Judge Belvin Perry ruled in favor of the prosecution, therefore all four counts of providing false information remained as separate counts. As a result, Judge Perry sentenced Anthony to the maximum on each count of 1 year to run consecutive for a total of 4 years. Anthony will be credited for her time served and good behavior. Calculations show she should be released by the end of July or early August. She must also pay a $4,000 fine.
Anthony was acquitted Tuesday of first degree murder, aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse in the 2008 death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony. The jury of seven women and five men found her guilty off all counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer.
Prosecutors accused Anthony of murdering Caylee by suffocating her with duct tape. The defense team claimed Casey and her father George Anthony covered up Caylee’s death after discovering the toddler had accidentally drowned in the family pool. The defense also claimed Casey suffered sexual abuse at the hands of George Anthony.
Anthony’s parents spoke out Tuesday saying their daughter’s defense was “baseless.” "The family may never know what happened to Caylee Marie Anthony. They now have closure for this chapter of their life. They will now begin the long process of rebuilding their lives,” George and Cindy Anthony's lawyer Mark Lippman, said in a statement. "Despite the baseless defense chosen by Casey Anthony, the family believes that the jury made a fair decision based on the evidence presented, the testimony presented, the scientific information presented, and the rules that they were given by the Honorable Judge Perry to guide them.”
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